Cursed Constellations
by Animic
Summary: The Eto family is cursed with the western Zodiac. When the Ox and the Bull come across each other, they spark something Hatori calls a Plague, and it has begun to spread throughout both families. Two curses are no better than one. MANY different pairings
1. Stubborn as a Bull

**Cursed Constellations**

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**Hello Fruits Baskets fans! :D**

Yes, I'm starting a new Fruits Basket fanfic and I've very. excited. about it. haha. You guys just got me so excited about Panic! that I had to write another one. I'm also trying a new story format layout thing. Hope you like it. So here's the jist of this story.

So, this will be a long story. Eto is their surname. I'm proud to say I know ALL 14 characters. Everything about them. :D Yes, there will be 14 characters. The 12 Zodiacs, the God, and the 13th Zodiac. Yes, there is a 13th Zodiac. I did some research. It's called Ophiuchus. :) You can research it if you don't believe me. haha.

I'd really like for you guys to know what these characters look like as I introduce them, so you can see them as I do. haha. If you go on my 'Animic' user profile page, I have a link to go to my photobucket album. I put banners for all my stories in there. *I'm a photoshop junky* Instead of a banner this time, I'll be doing individual pictures for each of them and I'll update it as you meet new characters. None yet though.

This is two chapters, kind of. The intro (The Curse's Twin) and Chapter One (Stubborn as a Bull)

**Enjoy! **

**~~ Animic (Egg) ~~**

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_i. Intro_

_The Curse's Twin_

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Hatori stepped into the grounds of the Sohma estate, his mind wandering to many different areas of his life. Depressing, sure. Happy, that too. However, that was neither here nor there concerning the topic that had recently come to mind. It's clear to say that the Sohma family was cursed generations before his time. Why or for what purpose, nobody really knew. Hatori had accepted it, just as the others had and those before him. Recently, a situation has presented itself. He wasn't quite sure how exactly this happened, or how he had come to overlook it. He only just started to notice.

There have been rumours circling around a particular family. Strange odd rumours, but rumours that he had heard before. None of them were true, he thought, but they were the same kind of rumours travelling around about the Sohma family. How all the members of the family were gorgeous. Refused to touch members of the opposite sex besides those of their family. How dark and evil pasts they had come to have.

Hatori recently paid a visit on purpose to this rumoured family's house. A large estate equivalent to the size of the Sohmas, in fact. Possibly larger. There were very large families in Japan, but very few that kept to their families. The Sohma's were there for a purpose. The estate was solely dedicated to the curse. They needed a large estate to take care of the Zodiac. However, there were scarce other reasons for such a large estate. An endless amount of questions appeared in Hatori's mind. Was it just a strange coincidence?

Hatori stepped into the God's room, Shigure soon to follow. On these visits he took to the new family's house, Shigure accompanied him. For cautions sake, naturally. Should one of the family members suspect them and ask questions, Shigure was a fairly decent liar.

"What have you found of them?" Akito asked Hatori, his eyes blazed of fire and hate. Akito has been unnaturally uneasy ever since the occurrence of this odd new family. They all have been. It was hard to believe that the Chinese zodiac, a curse passed down into the Sohma family for years, had a double. Hatori had firm beliefs on this matter, though, and Hatori was scarcely wrong.

"All of the evidence seems to add up. The Zodiac may have a twin curse," he stated. Shigure stood behind him, very stiff. Sure, Shigure was a jokester, but now with matters such as these. He, too, was worried. It was an unsettling mystery. None of them were really quite sure why it was so unsettling for all of them. Only that the arriving of any curse was always bad luck for another, it seemed. Two curses were, in fact, no better than one, Hatori supposed.

"That's impossible," yelled Akito. His hand was threatening to gouge a hole in the wall aside him. "The Sohma family is specific to the curse. There shall be no other cursed family."

Hatori ignored Akito. Akito didn't like to believe that his family was in competition with another, Hatori figured. He found them threatening. Any sane man would. "As far as I know of, they are not aware of our existence, as far as any curses go. I asked to enter their estate on behalf of a doctors account but they refused me, saying they already had a family doctor. I can only think of a few reasons a family would have a family doctor specific to certain members. Such as the reason we acquire. It seems to add up."

Akito thought about this for a long time. Clearly, the arrival of this information changed quite a few things in his mind. "It cannot, Hatori, but I refuse to take any chances. Hatori. Keep your research and well observing eye on this family. Say nothing to the others. This is confidential or it will be your dead body. Understand?" Akito asked sternly.

"Of course, Akito-sama," Hatori said. With one simple bow, Hatori retreated the God's house. Shigure, again, soon to follow. There wasn't much they were sure of, but they knew one thing. A dark omen shed on the lives of the Sohma family, had this rumour be true.

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**I**

**Stubborn as a Bull**

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Maia awoke to fire. Fire blazing against her bedside as she heard her baby sister screaming in the corner of her room. She was smart, though. Maia knew that she was jut lost in a dream. Well, it wasn't so much a dream as it was a re-occurring true horror story. Kind of like a post-traumatic stress disorder kind of thing, but much worse. It's not that Maia was hurt by the fire, but she was haunted by it. That much was for sure.

Minutes later, Maia found herself to be awake. What a surprise. She awoke to her regular house that she despised, in a regular room that she equally despised. Maia hated her life. Past, present, future, she hated it all. Being a family of Eto, she didn't exactly have the happiest past or present. Perhaps that was the curse out to get them. Either that or it was God's way of saying 'Screw you! Take this!' She didn't have the happiest past or present, and by the looks of it, her future was going to suck as well. She didn't care. Maia would survive.

Maia was a tough little cookie. She'd advanced to black belt way back in the day and is the only girl in the Zodiac to have a black belt, in fact. She took that with a lot of pride. However, she had a terrible temper. Maia was someone you did not want to cross. By any means. Once you get her going, there's no stopping her and she'll pound you without even a second thought or regret.

She flung herself up from bed and rubbed her head slightly, trying to rid of the bad dream but also trying to forget the fact that today was her first day of school. Ever. Maia was fifteen, so it's not like she was a child. Maia had never gone to school before. She'd been home-schooled, but very poorly by her parents. Her parents didn't give a rats ass about her education, nor did they care much for her either. To them, Maia was a disgusting freak. She didn't much care and she'd accepted it by now. Some people just didn't understand what it was like to be a part of the Zodiac.

Once her parents died, Maia started getting home schooled by one of the attendants. Not that the attendant enjoyed it per say. Let's just say that her home school teacher left with a lot of bloody noses and feeling very bad about herself. Maia loved to beat the be Jesus out of people, and she also liked to belittle them. It was a lot of negative energy escaping her, she supposed. Since Maia didn't have the best life, the way she dealt with it was beating people down to a pulp.

After she scared off a couple of the Sohma teachers, they decided she had to be sent to a school. An actual school. As if that would hide her violent behaviour. Maia knew it was a bad idea, and she knew she'd probably end up getting into a fight on the first day, but what the hell. It wasn't her idea to go to some stupid school. Maia was one of the only people of the Zodiac that didn't go to the community school. Apparently, she was too vicious to go, says many of them. Maia agreed. She was fairly hazardous to the other students. She would admit it.

Maia, if you hadn't already guessed, is the Bull of the Star Zodiac. The Taurus. She's very stubborn and has the temper of a Bull, which is expected. Many are afraid of her. Terrified, in fact. It's sort of what Maia likes. She prefers to be alone. Except for the God, but that's a long story.

She was born into a family that didn't appreciate her. At all. They hated her for what she was. A filthy Bull of the Zodiac. The Bull was known to be one of the worst to have a child of, besides the Snake. The Bull was always bad-tempered, stubborn, rude, and disrespectful, which pretty much sums up Maia in a nutshell.

Her father, thankfully, travelled the majority of his life. So, Maia didn't see much of him. What she did see, however, was not pretty. Her father didn't love her in the slightest. He hated her very soul and was disgusted at having such a cursed child. His temper got worse when her sister was born. Maia's sister is also a member of the Zodiac, which made her father flip shit.

He didn't like either of them, but he did favour Maia's sister. She was more kind and charming, unlike Maia who was the devil.

When Maia was around eleven, there was a terrible fire in her house. The reason it started was unknown, however many people think that Maia started the fire. Maia woke up to the smoke and was able to save herself and her little sister. However, her parents were not so lucky. They hadn't woken up. Her father was exhausted from travelling and her mother was passed out from alcohol on the couch. Her mother drank. A lot.

Maia didn't care all too much that they died, though. It didn't cross her as being a bad thing. That's why everyone thought that she did it. Not that she could blame them for thinking that. After that, she moved into the Eto estate with her little sister. Now, her sister has the biggest fear of fire there ever was. Maia wasn't effected by it but her sister is terrified of fire.

When Maia met the God of the Zodiac, she was still rather rude to him. Didn't listen to a word he said and, frankly, as stubborn as a bull. She refused to listen to him. The God liked to keep Maia close, and she didn't like that. Maia is a very restless person. Always has to be doing something and it's hard for her to do the same thing twice, which is why she hates living in the Eto estate so much.

The God punished her, though. Dearly. He made sure she would be obedient. The God locked her in the Serpent's Lair for over a month. The Serpent of the Zodiac, or the 13th reject Zodiac, had a cage for when he grew older. So everyone could laugh and point at him, Maia supposed. It was a terribly secluded barred cage. Maia was thrown in it and punished dearly by the God. He never held back, dear old Kami-sama. He beat her after she got out of the cage.

Ever since that traumatizing experience, Maia has followed the God's orders without question. Maia is the God's puppet to which he can bend with ease. She follows his orders directly, without question, and is forced to love him. In reality, she hates him. Maia hates the god with a fiery passion, but is forced against her will to contain her wrath against him.

"Time for school," one of her attendants called up through the house. Maia held a scrunched face as she finished getting ready.

"Bite me!" she hollered back. Maia finished putting on her stupid school uniform, which she despised, and grabbed her stupid backpack. Her backpack only had a few pieces of paper in it and a pencil. Which is all she'll ever bring to school. Maia doesn't care. If she flunks out of school, she doesn't care. Maia's just not that kind of person.

Maia slung the bag of crap over her shoulder and stormed down the stairs, being sure to make as much noise as she possibly could. She crossed over towards the door and gave a death glare to the lady that had called up to her earlier.

Many of the Eto family members, Zodiac or not, were terrified of her. It wasn't as if she was this mass murderer, but she definitely had a dark aura surrounding her. She wasn't afraid to beat you up if you said something she didn't like. Maia was quick-acting and had a nasty short temper. If you have any sense at all, you don't want to tick Maia off.

"Do have a nice time," her attendant said once more. Maia wiped her hair out of her eyes to reveal her cold glance at the woman.

"Like hell I will," she spat.

Maia slammed the door hard leaving a booming echo go across the Eto estate. Maia was not looking forward to this day. Getting into a fight wasn't exactly her idea of a successful first day. It's not that she liked to get into fights. It's just that they happened fairly often and were expected of the Bull of the Zodiac. No one blamed her, but they did keep a fair distance between themselves.

Yes, today would be a very interesting day for Maia. It's been awhile since she's beaten up a total stranger. The only thing she worried about was turning into her Bull form, just in case a guy got on her nerves. Maia sometimes forgot about the curse when her temper got out of control. Oh well.

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**Sorry that the intro and chapter one was kind of short. Together, they're long, but seperate their not. In the future, the chapters will be much longer. I promise. **

**Reviews?!?! I'd be so happy.**

**I hope you guys like the main character. Maia. haha. She's mean, isn't she? I should probably warn you that Maia may use profanity. The others aren't so bad. I do love her though. So vicious. Next chapter, you'll meet Ryuu, the Scorpion. You won't meet a new Zodiac every chapter but Ryuu is one of her best friends. Kind of have to mention him. **

**I did this for every character and I want you guys to know. Just so you can get used to the attitudes of the characters. Maia's theme song is 'Supermassive Black Hole,' by Muse. I think it fits her pretty well. I'll do that w/ every character. Eventually, I'll have a playlist with all the characters and stuff. **


	2. Sting from a Scorpion

**Cursed Constellations**

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**Guten Tag! :D** _(German for Hello)_

I hope you guys like this chapter! I'm really excited about writing this story. I'm trying to come up with a juicy good plot. I have to come up with a lot though. I want it to be a long story so I'm not throwing all the characters at you at once. I have all my characters, though. All of them. Biographies and all that jazz. You won't meet her for awhile, but my favourite is the Capricorn. :) You'll meet the Scorpio in this story, like I mentioned last chapter.

If you didn't know, I do photoshop a lot. I'm coming up with pictures for every character in the story. I found pictures that I'd like to represent them and made banners for each of them. If you want to see them, go to my profile page and I have a link to photobucket where they all are. I have Maia AND Ryuu, the Scorpion which you will meet in this chapter. I do love Ryuu. haha. I hope you guys like the pictures and I hope they help. They help me, so I hope they help you too. haha.

Well, tell me how I'm doing. This is my second Fruits Basket fanfic, in case you didn't know. My first one is called Panic! and it's also a Hatsuharu/OC fic, however I only make up one main character in that one and it's only 11 chapters. But I think it's good.

**Enjoy! **

**~~ Animic (Egg) ~~**

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**II**

**Sting from a Scorpion**

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The door was open, but Hatsuharu decided to knock anyways. You know, to be polite and such. Hatori sounded rather serious on the phone when he had asked to speak to him earlier. He was kind of perplexed on the subject of the matter. Rarely did Hatori and Hatsuharu speak often. Sure, they lived in the same general area and their paths did cross every now and then, but rarely did Hatori go out of his way to speak to him.

"Come in," a low voice said from inside. Hatsuharu nodded and entered, closing the door only slightly. Hatori, as suspected, was at his desk. Hatsuharu thought it looked as if he were researching something, which wasn't out of character for Hatori. Nothing too odd there. Haru stood in front of Hatori's desk with his hands in his pockets. He was truly clueless as to what Hatori could possibly be asking for.

Finally, Hatori raised his head, his left eye hidden behind the patch of hair that he always put off to the side to hide the true look of his face. His eyes were stern, more so today than he had seen them before. Hatsuharu wondered what could possibly be on his mind.

"First day of school?" Hatori asked, his eyes stressed. It seemed as if he had been up all night. Doing what, Hatsuharu didn't know. Haru nodded, a bit tense as well. He always felt uneasy around Hatori. It's not that he didn't like him. Far from it. Only Hatori had a mysterious aura surrounding him most times.

"I'll cut to the point then," he said lowly and stood up. Hatori lured over Hatsuharu and sighed. "Akito has given me permission to tell only a few people this so you must understand this is completely confidential. I wouldn't have told you only I need a younger person on this and for obvious reasons, I couldn't ask Momiji of this."

"What seems to be the problem?" Haru asked.

"I'll only tell you the basics, and I'll spare the rest. I'm not allowed to tell you the rest. Akito's orders. I've recently been doing research on a certain family. Their surname is Eto. Like the Sohmas, it is a rather large family, and, if my inferences are correct, a couple of the members are enrolled in your school."

"What's so special about them?" Haru asked, full of curiosity.

"Irrelevant," Hatori affirmed. Haru was going to ask more, but Hatori's firm gaze convinced him otherwise. "All I need you to do is to find out the behaviour of these certain children."

"So, you want me to spy on them?" Haru asked. His voice was kind of disgusted. Such a low act. "Forget it." Haru stood up to leave but Hatori didn't move at all.

Hatori's eyes pierced Hatsuharu darkly, but let the matter go. He was fine with the matter. Hatori didn't mind so much that the boy was unwilling to heed his orders. It was a rather extravagant and odd thing to ask of a person. Hatori supposed he would have to get confirmation some other way.

Hatori still wasn't sure what it was that made him so uneasy. Anyone who knew, in fact, was uneasy about the matter. What worried Hatori most was that there were students of this family at the school. He wasn't sure, but he could sense disaster. Two cursed families. A similar curse.

Hatsuharu was gone in an instant and Hatori went back to his desk. He was staring at a notebook riddled with notes he had taken when he had gone into many different websites and books at the library. Hatori had tried to learn everything he possibly could on the matter. He had looked up mythology and what each was like. He had researched everything. Naturally, nothing was ever mentioned with a family being cursed with the Star Zodiac, just as the Sohma curse was not mentioned in any book.

He longed to meet one of the members of the family, but every time he tried, he failed. He wanted a chance to run into a member of the family. A girl, if possible, just to see. However, that would be way to risky. He ran the chance of him too transforming. If the other didn't, it would be a surprise indeed and Hatori would have been mistaken and the situation would only have gone from bad to worse. For now, he supposed, it was best to leave sleeping dogs lie. Maybe something would come up.

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Maia had held her anger in that she even made it all the way to school without a scratch on some one else. One of the reasons she decided to walk alone. There was no telling what the rest of the day was going to bring up, though. Maia wasn't scared. She'd beat the crap out of any old coot if they asked for it. However, she was a little nervous about who she beat up. If it was a guy, which it normally was, she had to be careful. You know, just in case she turns into a Bull. That wouldn't be good. She could just have his memory erased, which is usually what happened, but it was such a hassle.

Maia got to her classroom late. The teacher was going to mention something about it too her, but seemed to think against it. Without hesitating, Maia threw her backpack down next to one of the empty chairs and fell into it. Already, she was bored. There was no way she would listen to this stupid teacher. Why should she?

She tapped her finger impatiently on her cheek as the teacher droned on and on. She really shouldn't have come on the first day. Apparently, the first day is the day where they went over all the rules. Maia didn't listen because she knew, eventually, she would be breaking every single one of those rules. Cussing, yup. Fighting, yup. Disrespect, yup. Turn in homework on time, yup. She knew the rules. That doesn't mean she'd follow them.

Maia's eyes rolled around the classroom. There was only one person in the Zodiac that was her age, but there was no way that person would be here. Maia honestly didn't know where the heck they were anyway. The others, if they even went here, were in different grades. Most of them were either out of high school or not even started yet. Or just refused to go to school in general, which is what Maia was doing.

Her eyes scanned all of the students in the room. She has quite an acute ability to read people. Find the people she would eventually hate, or not care about. With Maia, she didn't like anyone. She either hated you, or cast you aside. She found a white-haired boy that made her blood boil for some reason. He had white hair with black underneath and was sitting right next to her.

Maia glared at the boy. She wasn't sure why, she just knew she must hate this person. Something inside her told her to despise him already. Maia just has that kind of gut feeling all the time.

All of a sudden, the bell rang. "Class dismissed," the teacher said. Maia let out a groan of relief and grabbed her empty backpack. Maia rushed out of the door as fast as she could. She was planning on skipping next class, whatever class that would be. Maia didn't care. Not a second later, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, she reacted.

Maia slid around and threw out a right punch at whoever touched her. Whoever she was punching, though, grabbed her fist and held it up. Maia focused her eyes to discover that it was the white haired boy from before. The boy that made her vein pop.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled. Maia yanked her hand away out of his grasp and made a move to punch him again, but didn't. She saw him flinch and chuckled under her breath. Pathetic. Then, made on her way again.

"Sorry, but are you Maia Eto?" she heard from behind her. Maia tightened her eyebrows and stopped. She turned her head back and glared at him.

"Who wants to know?" Maia spat.

"Nobody," the boy said calmly.

"Good. Then I'm not answering," she leered. Maia turned back and started to head towards the door, so she could go outside. The boy wouldn't quit, though. He grabbed her shoulder again, which made Maia flip.

Maia grabbed his hand and flung him in front of her against a wall, but the boy stopped himself.

"I'm just trying to be ni-" the boy started.

"I said don't touch me!" Maia yelled again. She threw out two punches which the boy kept dodging. She punched and he dodged. She finally had him backed up into a wall and was almost about to kick him in the hurt area when she was suddenly stopped. Somebody from behind her had grabbed both her arms and pulled her back. They put their arms around her waist and gave a firm hold, temporarily paralyzing her. She knew it was, though, on the fact that she didn't transform into a bull.

"Ryuu, get your poisonous hands off me," she sneered, not even bothering to turn her head to look and see that it was actually him.

"Poisonous?" he asked with a demonic laugh. "That's a new one."

Maia struggled in his arms but he still wouldn't let go. The boy that had the hold on her, Ryuu, looked at the boy she was just about to beat up. "Sorry, Maia has a thing. Your not allowed to touch her. And, in your case, it'd be wise if you didn't." Maia struggled once more but Ryuu just tightened his grip.

"So, your name _is_ Maia Eto?" he asked. Maia was about to yell some stupid, rude remark when Ryuu interrupted her.

"Yes, that is her name. Ryuu Eto is mine," he said. Ryuu held out his hand for the other boy while holding Maia down with his other arm.

"Hatsuharu Sohma," the boy said, shaking Ryuu's hand. He looked quite perplexed, but seemed to understand. Maia was not listening to the polite conversation the boys were having.

"I swear, Ryuu, once your take your damn claws off me I'm going to rip your tail off!" Maia yelled. Ryuu just smirked darkly and ignored her struggling comments.

"Hatsuharu, in the future, know this. I don't take lightly to people who anger my Maia. So if you could. Leave now," Ryuu said with a dark gaze. It was a forceful and demanding tone. Hatsuharu had to admit, he was taken a bit surprised by the sudden threat.

"Don't call me _your_ Maia!" Maia screamed as Ryuu held a tighter grasp on her.

Hatsuharu seemed slightly amused at the two. Such a strange group. They fit together quite nicely, though. Maia reminded him tremendously of the Cat, Kyo. Had the temper of him, at least. However, you usually don't see a temper that Kyo has on a girl. It just usually wasn't like that. Not that extravagant, at least. However, some people like their space. Maia just seemed to really like her space.

"Fair enough," Hatsuharu said calmly, as if it were no problem. He was surprised he was able to keep his Black Haru down in that situation, but he supposed it was all too familiar for him. It would come out soon, though, if this girl kept pestering such as this.

As soon as Hatsuharu left, Ryuu let go of his grasp on Maia. However, he then grabbed her shoulders and banged her up against the wall angrily.

"What on earth were you doing?!" he screamed at her. Maia frowned into a glare such as the one he was giving her. Maia grabbed his arms and thrust them off her shoulders.

"He started it," she grumbled. Maia turned away from Ryuu and started walking towards the door to go outside. There was no way she was going to her next class now. She'd probably punch the teacher if he said one little tiny thing. No, it was too dangerous for her. Surely they will understand. Better not be there than have someone's teeth knocked out.

Ryuu followed her and chuckled after her response. "Maia, when there's a fight, It's always you who started it. Don't even try to do that."

Maia glared at Ryuu, but he was right. Maia always started the fight. It could be the tiniest thing and she would get pissed about it. She wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was the Bull in her. Every Bull in the past Eto generations have been like this. Stubborn, aggressive, not forgiving. It wasn't as bad as being the snake, but it was almost just as worse emotionally for the parents. For any of them it was, really.

She fled out the door and nearly slammed the door right in Ryuu's face. He seemed to be used to it. Ryuu had been one of Maia's best friends since a long time ago. He was the Scorpio of the star Zodiac, and boy was he a scorpion. Ryuu had a dark side to him. An evil side. Maia was just aggressive, but Ryuu was evil.

His hair was all red except for a strip of black. It's what his animal form looked like. A red scorpion with a black stripe. Poisonous. He got a lot of grief being the Scorpion, too. Past Scorpions have been like Ryuu, too. Let's just say that if one of the Eto Zodiac members would be a serial killer, it would be the Scorpio. That's just how it was.

"So, you're just skipping class?" Ryuu asked with a grin.

"Got a problem with that?" Maia asked quite angrily. Ryuu shrugged.

"Eh, it's just as well. You'd probably end up killing somebody if you went to class."

"Yeah, like that white-headed kid," she spat.

Ryuu managed to let out a dark smile. He was always up to something, it seemed. Nothing good. Maia always had suspicions that one day he would try to screw her over or something. Ryuu had a right dark history, he did. He never talked about though. Not even to Maia. She, herself, didn't know much about his past. He never told her. All she knew was that both his parents were dead. He refuses to say how, though, and she was his best friend. Ryuu wasn't gentle with anyone in the Zodiac besides Maia. Perhaps he could relate with her. They seemed to have the same quick temper. Maia was faster to get angry. Anything pissed Maia off.

"You should really try to hold your anger in, Maia. Especially here," he warned her.

"You're one to talk. Getting into fights every week," she scoffed. That much she did know about him. Ryuu got into a fight with a guy almost every week. It was usually because he wanted to beat someone up. Ryuu usually didn't have a reason to beat someone up. Usually, he just did, depending on what mood he was in.

"That's different. I get into fights with guys. What happens if you transform?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," she mumbled, angrily. Yes, it had happened many times where she would be fighting and run into the guy and transform. His memories were erased and everything. It was just a hassle. "We'll just erase their memories. Easy."

Ryuu rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying. Watch yourself. You've got a right good reputation here already, now that they know your related to me. A lot of people don't like me here."

"Who _does_ like you here?" Maia spat.

Ryuu laughed and shrugged. "You," he retorted with a lousy laugh.

"We'll see," she gritted through her teeth. Maia and Ryuu had made it far away enough from the school and sat down against a tree. Neither of them planned on returning to school. They were rebels together, that was for sure.

Ryuu was the only person Maia generally got along with in the Zodiac. She loved her sister, don't take it that way, but her and her sister were so different. Ryuu and Maia have the same temperament and just generally get along. She growls at him half the time but he snaps right back at her. They make quite a demonic duo.  
"You wanna ditch this place?" Ryuu asked. He stood up and offered his hand out to Maia. Maia thought for awhile and nodded.

"Yeah. Who cares if I fail?" she said nonchalantly. Maia grabbed the hand as Ryuu helped her up. They walked throughout the town aimlessly for the rest of the day. She could already tell that she was going to hate school with a fiery passion. Ryuu being there might make it a bit easier, but Ryuu wasn't in her grade. He was two years older than her, in fact. Maia didn't know anybody from her family in her grade. Not like many of them went to school anyway. If they did, they went to an all boys or all girls school. So they didn't transform or anything.

When the time came where it was around school to be over, Ryuu and Maia walked home. Ryuu also lived in the Eto estate, like Maia. He only moved in about a year or two ago. Maia moved in a couple years before him. He still won't tell her what exactly happened in his past, but Maia always told herself he would eventually.

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**Hope you guys like Ryuu! I do! haha. He's kind of a jerk to everyone besides Maia, but he does enjoy giving her a hard time anyway. haha. I absolutely love how much Maia hates Haru already. haha. I'll go further into the whole Maia/Haru hate relationship later. Probably next chapter. I think Hatori will have a rather big role in this story as well. As he usually does in mine. I do love Hatori. lol. **

**I'd LOVE reviews if you'd be so kind :) But you don't have to. I do like to know if people are enjoying and reading my story. **

**In case you wanted to know, Ryuu's theme song is Sona No Oshiro by Kanon Wakeshima. It's Japanese but the mood fits Ryuu. He's got a pretty dark past, which I will reveal later. **

**Next chapter, if I go by my notes, you will meet the God!! W00t. **


	3. God's Wrath

**Cursed Constellations**

**=-=-=-=-=-=**

**Hola! :)**

Hey guys! Thanks for reading up to here! You get to meet the God in this chapter. W00t!! You won't meet another one for another couple chapters though. I came up with this new thing I'm going to do. Every five chapters, I'm going to go through all the characters, like they do in the manga books, so you guys can know who everyone is.

Oh, if any of you are wondering, I fixed the photobucket thing. I figured out that I accidentally had it on private view so no one could see it unless you had the password, but I fixed it to public. So, if you want, I have characters up for Ryuu and Maia, in case you want to know what they look like.

I've started going through the entire story and planning it. Not too far, but it's coming along. I know where you meet all the characters and most of the plot. Just have to fit it all together some how. It'll be a long story.

Ok. P.S. I use the suffix -dono and -sama and -san in this chapter. -san is the regular suffix that means like mr. or mrs. -sama is a more formal version of -san. And -dono is an EXTREMELY formal version of -sama. It's another way of calling someone God. haha. In my story, I'll be using -dono and -sama a lot for the God. Kaikou :)

**Enjoy! **

**~~ Animic (Egg) ~~**

**

* * *

**

**III**

**God's Wrath**

* * *

**  
**That first day always came back to Hatsuharu again and again and again. Such a peculiar family. However, it seemed all too familiar to him. The behaviours of the family were similar to the behaviours of the Sohmas. Protective, distant, and angry. Perhaps this had to do with the reason Hatori was trying to find so much about them.

Hatsuharu entered his office that night only to find that Hatori wasn't there. He felt like understanding what was going on. Hatori had never asked him to spy on anyone before. In fact, most of his duties were to tend to Akito. Why would he suddenly be so interested in this Eto family?

Hatsuharu walked over to the desk where Hatori sat and did his research. As he thumbed through the sheets of paper, it didn't take long to find one with the Eto's name on it. But it was blank. Confused, he flipped to the next page. On that page said Constellations. There were names Hatsuharu was rather familiar with. Taurus, Scorpio, Capricorn. It was the monthly Zodiac.

The Sohma's were cursed with the yearly Zodiac. The Chinese Zodiac, if you will. The Constellations were a Zodiac based purely off Greek Mythology, from what Hatsuharu remembered. He didn't remember the specific things that happened, but he knew that each were assigned a zone of dates to control as their part of the Zodiac. They were constellations in the sky, obviously.

Hatori suddenly stepped in. Hatsuharu immediately dropped the paperwork he had been looking at and stepped away from the desk a bit. It didn't matter, though. Hatori had seen him. He didn't seem to mind but gave an emotionless glare to him that somehow told Hatsuharu to leave.

So, he nodded and made his way towards the door. Hatori glanced at his paperwork that was lying out, wondering what Hatsuharu had seen. He can't have inferred much. Hatori took as vague notes as he possibly could so people would think it was just something Hatori was interested in.

Hatsuharu remained by the door, though, observing Hatori's behaviour. He hasn't seen Hatori this uneasy about something since Kana. Something had to have been wrong, and this Eto thing must have been important or Hatori probably wouldn't have asked it of him in the first place.

"I met an Eto today," he said low enough to make it a whisper but loud enough for Hatori to hear. At this, Hatori lifted his head, seeming quite intrigued.

"And?" he asked. His voice was hoarse. Again, Hatori had stayed up all night, only to find nothing.

"I met two, actually," Hatsuharu told him. "They were….rather odd."

"Did they say anything strange?" Hatori asked.

Hatsuharu thought for a long time, trying to recall the confrontation with the two demonic kids. "Yeah. The girl. Maia. She was very distant. I touched her once and she freaked out. Had an awfully bad temper. Reminded me of Kyo, actually."

Hatori took this information in. A girl not wanting others to touch her. Boys probably more than girls. Just like the Sohmas didn't prefer others to touch them. This information only further proved his point, though he wished it hadn't. Hatori had been trying to prove himself wrong about this family for ages. He wasn't sure why but two curses together could cause a disaster. It's like poles in a magnet. North and South distract from each other, just as two curses would.

"And the other?" Hatori asked.

"Ryuu," Hatsuharu said, introducing the boy next. "He seemed fairly dark as well. Protective over Maia, I suppose, and had red and black hair too. Maia said something about him that was rather strange. Something about claws and ripping his tail off, or him being poisonous? I don't know. Perhaps it was an inside joke or something," he said with a nervous laugh.

Hatori's eyes widened at this information. Claws. Tail. Poisonous. Hatori rubbed his face with his hands and looked over at Hatsuharu. That's all he seemed to know and they both nodded rather awkwardly.

"I didn't get much time to talk with them after that," Haru admitted.

Hatori nodded. "Thank you, Hatsuharu. You've done more than help."

Hatsuharu sensed Hatori's want for him to leave now, and so he obliged. He closed the door lightly and left the room. He left Hatori feeling rather uneasy.

Hatori walked towards his desk and fingered through the papers on it. He turned to a page labelled Scorpio with a picture of a red scorpion with a black stripe through it. Hatori sighed. This young man, Ryuu, if it was true, had to be the Scorpio. He was convinced now. It was all too clear. This Eto family, whoever the six may be, were the twelve of the Zodiac.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Maia was sitting in class one day, alone. She hadn't been to class for awhile. Ryuu and her skipped the majority of the days, browsing through the towns and stuff. Maia just wasn't much up for school. She wasn't used to it and, honestly, didn't like the people all too much at all. Ryuu, she could stand, but he was family. Not only that, but a part of the Zodiac as well. Maia, being the Taurus, just had a hard time connecting with other people.

She sat there like a zombie staring at the teacher. She might as well have not been there in the first place. She never listened when the stupid teachers talked anyway. Today, she wished she had skipped because something awful happened.

The door opened and a rather nicely dressed woman entered. Maia had seen her strolling through the corridors of the school. Apparently she was the principals assistant or something. Maia didn't pay too much attention to anything like that.

"May I have a word with Maia Eto?" the woman asked.

When Maia heard that, her ears perked up and she looked intently at the front door. Maia could smell trouble. The teacher agreed, but Maia didn't move.

"Maia, may I speak with you for a bit?" she asked politely. You could tell that the last thing she wanted to do was speak with this troubled child. Maia could sense that, too. She could tell when people were afraid of her. Most people were, in fact. Maia was a pretty intimidating person, come to mention it.

"No," she said, matter-of-factly. There was some whispering throughout the classroom but Maia glared at them to shut their mouths. She wasn't even going to think of going, either, until she heard the voice.

"Maia, you're really not going to tell me that I came all the way down here just to watch you disobey." This was not the voice of the lady though.

The voice came of a man who had just entered through the door behind the lady. He had his arms folded and his hair was dark black with teal strips through it. The God of their Zodiac. Kami-Sama. Kaikou.

"K-kaikou-d-dono," Maia stuttered.

"Get out here, Maia, before I lose my temper," Kaikou said coldly.

Maia looked around the classroom and saw many of the kids avoiding Kaikou's gaze. Kaikou was a very intimidating person, as Maia was. Although, his was much more fierce. Anyone who met Kaikou for an instant was immediately terrified for their life. Maia was. She'd been living with him for awhile, though, so she should be used to it.

Being the God of the Zodiac, he had control over all of them. Even Maia. Kaikou was the one person Maia would blindly listen to without talking back.

Hatsuharu was in the room, eying the whole situation with great vigilance. This, too, was all too familiar to him. The aura that surrounded Kaikou reminded him of someone. Who, he couldn't quite figure out. Maia's reaction was also familiar to. Why were the Etos and the Sohmas so similar, it seemed?

"Yes," Maia said without hesitance. Maia grabbed her things together, her arms trembling as she did so. She held her backpack close to her chest and avoided the gaze of the other students.

Why was he here? Why was Kaikou-dono here? Maia didn't understand. It can only mean something bad, though, and it terrified her. Maia has had some bad experiences with Kaikou and didn't like to revisit them. She was known throughout the Zodiac as Kaikou's puppet. Or, his toy. Maia was indebted to him and would do literally anything he asked. She'd probably jump off a cliff if he had commanded her to do so. It was that serious.

Maia exited the room and closed the door. Her head was lowered and looking at the ground. She saw the feet of Kaikou and the principals assistant lady.

"Lift your head up, _child_," Kaikou spat at Maia. Her head immediately lifted and her gaze stayed straight. The lady pretended not to notice the tension between the too and continued in her planned spiel.

"The principal would like to have a word with you and your guardian, Maia," she said and with that, headed off towards the principals office. So, that's what it was. A parent-teacher conference type thing. Maia knew this could only be bad. She knew skipping class would only come back to bite her in the ass.

Maia didn't say anything as the three of them went to the office. The lady led them in and Maia and Kaikou took their seats across from the principal as the assistant lady shut the door.

"Eto-san," the man said, addressing Kaikou. "I'm sorry to call you here on such short notice."

"Not a problem at all. Happy to come," Kaikou said. That was Kaikou. He was such a nice person to everyone but his family. It wasn't fair in Maia's point of view.

"Well, let's get right down to it. We've been having a few problems with Maia ever since she started."

"Yes, Maia's new and I apologize. Not too good with people, either, I'm afraid. It might take a little adjusting on her part."

"It will need immediate adjusting, sir, or she will be expelled. This week alone, she's already been in a couple fights already. As a school, we don't support that kind of behaviour."

"I understand completely," Kaikou said. He didn't seem to surprised at this. Maia was prone to fights being the Taurus.

"There were a few other things I'd like to inform you about as well. Maia, as of now, is failing all of her classes."

Kaikou took a second and glanced at Maia, who cringed further into her shell. "You don't say?" There was a dark tone in his voice now, you could tell. Even the principal could.

"The reason is probably that she hasn't been present at the majority of them. She's skipped at least 20 classes in this week alone along with another one of your students, Ryuu. His grades are actually well in tact, though, surprisingly. We're just worried about Maia's safety and education. Further misbehaviour will result in OSS or expulsion from the school."

Kaikou was glaring even further at Maia who was avoiding his eye contact completely. She was totally in for it now. There was no escaping it. Ryuu would get away untouched, as usual. Kaikou, in the past, always had a soft spot for Maia. Not only was she his toy, but slightly one of his favourites.

"Well, thank you for your time," Kaikou said. Kaikou and the principal shook hands and Maia and Kaikou left the principals office. Kaikou walked with her around the school for awhile until she got back to her previous classroom. She was just about to reach for the doorknob when her wrist was grabbed by Kaikou.

"Look at me, Maia!" he ordered. His dark booming voice shook her with fear. Maia lifted her head up to look at the steaming mad Kaikou. "Finish the rest of the day. Come see me when you get back. Immediately."

It wasn't a request. It was an order. A command. Maia found herself not breathing through this entire confrontation. When Kaikou made his leave, she released a breath that she hadn't known she had been holding. She was nervous, that was for damn sure. A tone like that with Kaikou was nothing to be taken lightly.

Maia was shaking by the time she opened the door. The students all looked at her in different emotions. Some seemed to be laughing at her for getting in trouble. Some were curious. Some were worried. Not like Maia would share what happened with any of them. She hated them all, just as she hated pretty much everything. Maia placed her things down in her seat and began fidgeting with her fingers. The teacher went onto teaching as if nothing had happened, but Hatsuharu seemed concerned.

"What happened?" he asked Maia, leaning over towards her. Maia frowned at him.

"That's not your concern," she spat. She would have seemed fierce by that comment, only her lower lip was trembling. In fact, her arms were shaking vigorously too.

"You're obviously worried about something," he whispered towards her. "Otherwise I wouldn't ask."

"The last person I would tell, would be you," she hissed at Hatsuharu.

Maia didn't like Hatsuharu. She stayed away from him for Ryuu's sake. Ryuu had a bad feeling about Hatsuharu. Ryuu was one of the only people Maia listened to willingly. She was forced to follow Kaikou but Ryuu was one of her best friends. He was one of the only people that could calm her down in one of her rages.

Maia did beat up the other boys though, careful not to come into contact with them. But, Ryuu always split up her fights. He always tried to ruin her fun.

"Why me?" Hatsuharu asked, slightly offended.

Maia hardened her glare at him. "Because you're always asking questions. And besides, Ryuu doesn't like you, so I don't either."

"Wh-Ryuu doesn't like me?" Hatsuharu asked. That, Hatsuharu was confused by. Ryuu had always acted rather nice and polite to him. Perhaps he was one of those two-faced people. One of those evil double sided people. Hatsuharu hated those people. Not that he was one to talk. He was the one with the White Haru and Black Haru ordeal, but that was different. He couldn't help that part of him.

"No," Maia said, chuckling slightly. "Ryuu hates your guts. Now, don't talk to me or I will pound you," she threatened.

Hatsuharu sighed and returned back to his seat, facing forward. There was no getting into anything with this girl. She was so hard headed, stubborn, and vicious.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Maia walked step by step through the hall that led to the God's room. She was nervous and trembling even more so than before, which she didn't think was possible. Maia opened the door very slightly and knocked.

"Enter," a voice commanded. Maia nodded and went inside the room, rather unwillingly. There was a reason why.

Immediately, as she entered, she received a slap to the face. She expected as much, though. She was also anticipating a lot more afterwards. Maia closed the door with her eyes closed and her head facing towards the ground.

"I-I'm sorry Kaikou-dono," Maia said gently.

"Not good enough, Maia," he screeched. "You know? I try very hard to maintain a solid foundation around this insanely demented family. It breaks my heart when someone like you takes such care for granted."

"I don't. I. I appreciate everything you've done for me, Kami-sama."

"Don't feed me that, Maia. You know I'm the only one in this family that doesn't think you killed your parents. That you didn't set your house on fire. Even after all that drama, I open my estate to you and let you stay here. Even pay for your education. Then, what happens? It blows up in my face!" he screamed.

Kaikou hit Maia hard this time and threw her to the ground. Maia was crying deeply now. She didn't need to know what was going to come next. She pretty much had it figured out already.

"You know what else ticks me off?!" he yelled, kicking Maia in the gut. "You getting into fights with a bunch of _boys_ that could risk the exposure of the Eto secret. That last thing I need is for that to happen!"

"I'm sorry, Kaikou-dono. I just…my anger…it's just," she stammered. Kaikou wouldn't have any of that.

"Ryuu is a bad influence on you," he hissed, spitting on her some.

"No. He's not. Ryuu is not. Please. He didn't do anything wrong," she begged.

"I expect this kind of stuff from Ryuu. I've let it go many times, but I will not make the same mistake with you," he said rather coldly. He lifted his hand to hit her which made Maia wince but did not follow through. Instead, he grabbed her wrist with a firm grip and lifted her up with incredible force. Maia let out a few whimpers, which Kaikou indecently ignored.

"I've no other choice," he yelled at her. Maia knew this was coming. She tried to get her hand out of his grasp but Kaikou only gripped it tighter.

Kaikou dragged her through the Eto estate. She stopped trying to get out of his grip. She saw many of the Eto family members looking at her in pity, but she only sneered at them. Maia hated pity. If you were to pity anyone, pity yourself. About ten minutes later, Maia was thrown in a room she was all too familiar with.

The door shut hard leaving an echo throughout the entire room. It was cold and dark, with only a few creaks of light shining through the bars. Here she was, yet again.

* * *

**Hope you guys like Kaikou. All of these characters are kind of dark but not all of the characters are. Don't worry. haha. I think they're all different versions of dark, though. Maia is more aggressive. Ryo is evil and mean. And Kaikou is...erm...violent and demanding. And controlling. haha. The next one you will meet will be much nicer. But I won't tell you who it is. :D **

**No new characters to meet next chapter. Sorrwy. haha.**

**Review??? I'd love to see what you guys think of the story so far. Thanks for reading/favoriting/reviewing/subscribing or anything really. haha. **

**Oh, btw. Kaikou's theme song is Dark Messenger, by Nobuo Uematsu (it's a song from Final Fantasy IX)**


	4. The Serpent's Lair

**Cursed Constellations**

I'd like to start off saying I'm sorry!

I know a lot of people have actually been reading this and it's just been on Hiatus for awhile. More plot bunnies are starting to fly up in my head though for this story and I just re-read my Panic! story and got motivation to continue writing this one. Plus, I just saw the fruits basket episode when Haru first arrives. Love that episode. Haha. Anyway, this isn't my BEST chapter but it's something to keep me going. Hopefully. Keep those fingers crossed. :P

No new characters in this one, but in the next one you'll meet the next person. W00t. This chapter was mainly introducing Maia to the main Fruits Basket people to get it started.

Well, I hope you like the update that's been needed for several months. I want everyone to know I am NOT going to abandon this story. I have every single character planned out. Looks, personality, likes, dislikes, crushes, parents, literally, I have everything about every character. Haha. I can't very well give that up, can I? :P

Well, like I said, not the best chapter but it will do. Hope you guys like.

**~~ Animic (Egg) ~~**

* * *

**IV**

**The Serpent's Lair**

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Maia sat in the prison for what seemed like days. Her hunger was overpowering anything else that was in her brain. She didn't know how long she'd been suck in this prison. It was just like last time, though. Dark, cold, and scary.

The last time she was here it was because of a similar situation. It was when Maia first got here and refused to follow Kaikou's orders. She was punished most dearly. Her act straightened up pretty quick after that. Maia hated this place. She couldn't possibly ever comprehend how bad it must be to be placed here for the rest of one's life.

This was the serpent's lair. The cage of the 13th zodiac member. Forever. What a poor bastard to be stuck up here. He hadn't started his cagement yet. He was still in school. But soon he would.

"Maia?" she heard from the bars of the room. Her eye's widened as she stumbled up and over to the wall with bars like a prison. She enclosed her fist around the bars and looked through them to see Ryuu.

"Ryuu?" she asked, surprised. "What the devil are you doing here?" she snapped.

Ryuu frowned at her. "What? Do you want me to leave? Fine!"

Ryuu started to turn his back when Maia grabbed the back of his shirt. She was lonely.

"How long has it been?" she asked. Her voice, she noticed, was as hoarse as a toads. She can't remember that last time she drank anything.

"About a week," he said. His eyes were full of sadness. Ryuu was a tough guy but his weakness had always been Maia. She's one of the only Zodiac members he could relate to. She was dark and cruel, like he was, but with the same terrible past as well. Not that the other Zodiac pasts weren't bad. They were, but Ryuu and Maia were affected much more deeply by their pasts. For they were both accused to be murderers.

"A week?" Maia asked, bewildered. Wow. It seemed like a life time. Longer than the last time she'd been in here. She looked at Ryuu with hurt eyes. She knew he had to leave. If Kaikou caught him here, he would get into trouble. "Go," she told him.

Ryuu cast a sad glance and finally nodded, making his way out. He felt terrible, leaving her there. But it was Kaikou's orders.

Not too far away from the Eto estate, Hatsuharu was walking. He hadn't seen Maia for awhile. Not since that dark man came and snapped at her. She didn't seem like one to be afraid of anything but one glance at that man, she became terrified.

He remembers why it was all too familiar to him before. That man. The one she called Kaikou-dono. He reminds him of Akito. All of the Zodiac change when Akito is around just like Maia did with Kaikou.

He was beginning to worry, though. He didn't like the aura surrounding that man. Not at all. So, the following weekend, he decided to go visit her. He knew, for the most part, where she lived. From the address book. He didn't know her too well but something fishy seemed to be going on and he could since it. He didn't like the way Kaikou looked at Maia. As if she were property or something.

Haru knocked three loud times on the large door in front of him. It was a big estate. Possibly bigger than the Sohmas. It was bewildering how similar the Sohmas and the Etos were turning out to be.

The person to answer the door was Ryuu. Ryuu took one hard glare at Haru when he saw him. "You?" he sneered distastefully. It was not a happy greeting and it was clear he did not want Hatsuharu here. "What do you want?" Ryuu sneered at Haru.

Haru widened his eyes a bit. Ryuu was always a mystery to him. Seemed like a nice guy sometimes but others he was evil and dark. "Easy," he said, putting his hands up to silence his anger. "I just wanted to see Maia. She hasn't been at school lately."

Ryuu's eyes darkened as he said this. Clearly, a sensitive topic was being brought up. Haru even knew that he was walking on thin ice. "None of your business, Sohma."

"I have her homework," he said. Ryuu made a grab for the work but Haru took it out of his reach. "I'd like to give it to her myself."

"I won't allow that," Ryuu said.

"Why can't I just see her?"

"This is the Eto estate. We don't allow outsiders here." Outsiders. What a familiar term. The Sohma's called everyone outside the family outsiders. It was all too familiar for him.

"Very well," Haru said, defeated. Something fishy was going on. She's been gone for awhile and ironically right after she was snapped at by that man, Kaikou.

Maia arrived at school by herself, ashamed. What a terrible week. How she even survived was a mystery to her. That lair was the worst place anyone could go. It was disgusting and demeaning. She was not the only one of the Zodiac to experience, though. Many have gone in there. Soon, one will go in there…and he will never come out. But they don't think about things like that.

As soon as she exited the lair, she was given rules. Specific and hardcore rules that would be the death of her if she broke them. She was forbidden to get into any more fights. Especially with men. She was required to go to school early and sit quietly. Also, she would soon be forced to get passing grades. Maia would wake up, go to school, and come straight home until Kaikou concluded that she was forgiven. Which would not be short. Kaikou is not known for his forgiveness.

So, she continued going to school, much to her dislike. Ryuu walked beside her silently. They hadn't spoken for a long time. Kaikou thought that Ryuu was a bad influence on Maia. Perhaps he was right.

"You don't have to listen to him," Ryuu finally told her but only to be snapped at by Maia.

"Yes, I have to. Everyone knows that I'm Kaikou's puppet. Hell, it's the only thing I'm good at," Maia grumbled. Kaikou had grown a rather big interest of picking on Maia over the years. It got to the point where now she simply cannot say no to Kaikou anymore. It is a forbidden word. She's his puppet. And how he loved to pull her strings.

"You know that's not true," Ryuu told her.

Maia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You know it is. He loves to pick on me because he knows I cannot say otherwise. I lost the privilege to say no a long time ago." She looked at her watch and sighed. "I'll see you after school," she told him and went towards her first class.

Ryuu just stood there and sighed, watching her leave. He always felt bad for her. He thought that his life was bad. He didn't even want to try and imagine how hard Maia had it. Ryuu got away with a lot from Kaikou because Kaikou's attention was usually on more important things. Maia, mainly.

She was early for class, like Kaikou had instructed her to be. Apparently, Kaikou had talked with all her teachers asking for daily reports. She was pretty sure he was paying them to do that, too. So, she was screwed in other terms. Teachers would be watching her every move because they knew she was a hazard. They knew now, anyways.

Students filed into the classroom after the final bell rang. While all the other kids waited outside talking to their friends and family, Maia was stuck inside. Her gaze was straight forward but in the corner of her eye she saw the white-haired boy sit next to her. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. For some reason, there was something about this kid that pissed her off. More so than regular people, actually.

"We missed you around here," he said. Maia rolled her eyes, not saying anything. "Where've you been?" he asked after awhile.

Maia narrowed her eyes and looked at him threw thin slits. "That's none of your business."

Haru chuckled slightly. "'s exactly what Ryuu said."

"What?" she demanded. "Why have you been talking with Ryuu?"

"Nothing," Haru assured.

She didn't believe him but the conversation was over. In her head, anyways. She'd talk about it later with Ryuu. The last thing she wanted to do was waste her breath on some stupid guy who died his hair.

School went by very slowly. It dragged on and on. Gym class was awful. Maia was forced to actually dress out. She was athletic so that wasn't necessarily a problem. The Bulls of the Zodiac were always athletic and strong. Already, Maia was a double black belt, so she knew a thing or two about running. It was stupid stuff, though. Sports. It wasn't that Maia hated sports. She just didn't see the point. They were useless. Soccer was alright, she supposed. She had always enjoyed watching the world cup with Ryuu some years. Other than that, she wasn't a big fan of them. Baseball, please. Such a sissy sport. And Volleyball was worse.

Finally, when school was over, she made her way to leave but she was stopped. Who else would stop her but the white-haired boy? She was already in a terrible mood. Why must he torment her? He grabbed her by the shoulder and she immediately reacted.

Maia threw a punch at his face which he dodged, but it got his arm off her shoulder. "Hey, easy. I just wanted to introduce you to some people. This is Maia, the girl I told you about," he said, directing her attention towards some people. A boy with orange hair, gray hair, blonde hair, and a brunette girl. Maia narrowed her eyes. It hardly seemed like the company she would keep herself with.

The fact that Haru was talking about her made her angry. "I would say it's a pleasure to meet you…but it's not," she said with a hard glare.

"Real nice find, this one, Haru," the orange haired boy said sarcastically.

"Find?" Maia said angrily. With a roll of her eyes, she turned to leave but Haru caught her again. She grabbed his arm, twisted it, and kicked him down onto the ground. "What part of don't touch me don't you grasp?" she said with hatred.

Haru stood himself up and put his hands up, indicating he would not touch her again. "Okay, he was only joking, Maia."

"Hmm…she reminds me of someone," the grey haired boy said, amused. The orange haired one narrowed his eyes in the way that Maia had been.

"If you're talkin' about me, rat boy-"

"What if I was?" he said, amused.

The two started arguing and Maia was going to give one second before she started to leave again when the brunette girl approached her. She had a smile that made Maia want to punch it off her face. Was that bad?

"Hello, I'm Tohru. You must be relatively new. I'm Tohru. The orange one is Kyo and the one fighting him is Yuki. We're all very excited to meet you, Ma-"

"Save your speech, alright. Tohru, was it? Isn't that a boys name?" she said with distaste. Tohru looked stunned. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. "I don't know who you guys think I am but I'm not about to join your little freaky hair coloured gang. Dōmo arigatō for the ego boost."

"Maia, are you okay?" Haru asked her slightly. There was something about this girl. She was so much like Kyo, it was uncanny. But, Kyo had a reason to act the way he did. This girl had to have a reason too.

The only reason he had become so interested in the girl is because of Hatori. Had it not been for him, he wouldn't have given her a second glance. But Hatori was right…something was up with the Eto family. And he was just as curious as Hatori was. He hadn't told Kyo or any of the others why he was being friends with the girl. It just kind of happened.

Kyo and Yuki heard what Maia had said and ended there fight to stand beside Tohru. Kyo took a few steps in front of her and was staring hard at Maia.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Tohru is just trying to be nice to you!" he yelled practically in her face.

"Well, the next time I want someone to be nice to me, I'll be sure to come to you guys. Until then-" she started but Kyo grabbed her shoulder.

"Maia, it would be nice if you apologized to Tohru," the one named Yuki said. Maia rolled her eyes. She was just minding her own business when all this crap happened. She blamed the white-haired kid.

"No. And you listen to me, carrot top. If you don't take your hand off my shoulder in the next five seconds, I swear to God that I will-"

"Oh, what? What's a girl gonna go?" Kyo said as if a girl being able to fight was the stupidest thing he ever heard.

He did not remove his hold on her. Haru opened his mouth to say something but before he could, Maia flipped. She punched Kyo in the stomach. Before they knew it, both Kyo and Maia were enraged in a fight. The fact that Kaikou will probably find out about this and put her back in the Serpents lair didn't even cross her mind. She did not like to be taunted. They would soon figure that out.

Haru, Yuki, and Tohru sat by in shock. They didn't know what to do. "Hey, guys! Stop it!" Haru yelled but nothing happened. Curses were being thrown back and forth as well as punches between the two. Seems like Kyo had finally met his match because Maia was just as feisty as he was.

A couple minutes later and they were both bleeding. Maia lifted her hand to throw another punch but something happened. Something that always happened. Someone grabbed her from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist, tying her arms down. She struggled in their grasp. She knew who it was.

"Ryuu, let go of me. I'm going to win this!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about," Ryuu smirked and dragged Maia away from Kyo with Maia struggling in his grasp.

The group gathered. Haru was looking at the ground. This was all his fault. He didn't know that Maia would behave like this.

"Well, are you all satisfied? You've successfully pissed off my Maia-"

"Don't call me your Maia!" she hollered which Ryuu ignored.

"You!" Ryuu pointed at Haru. "Stay away from her. I don't know why you keep trying to talk to her but that is over. She is no longer your concern. Period. And you!" he pointed at Kyo next. "If I ever see you fighting Maia again, you'll get my regards. And you don't want that."

He didn't give them a chance to respond as he grabbed Maia's wrist and led her out of their earshot. Then, he stopped and looked at her harshly.

"You better pray to God that Kaikou doesn't find out about this," he said with hatred in his voice.

Maia wiped her mouth with her sleeve. Blood was now on her sleeve. Ryuu sighed and started to help her with all the blood. "He won't," she told him. But it was not that easy. Kaikou had spies everywhere. Not to mention, she had scars, bruises, and blood all over her face.

Ryuu was not convinced but he knew fighting her wasn't going to help. "So, what happened?"

Maia sighed. Truthfully, nothing. It was all her fault. But…well…there was no but. It was always her fault. "Nothing. The white kid was just introducing me to people and I was in a bad mood."

"When are you not in a bad mood?" he laughed.

"I'm not in a bad mood when you're around," she told him honestly. That much was true. Even right after the incident, Maia already felt calmer knowing that Ryuu was there. If he hadn't, it could have gotten pretty bad, actually.

"Well, that's always good to know," he told her.

After that, the two made their way reluctantly back to the Eto estate. Maia had cleaned herself up as best as she can and she think she did pretty well. Kyo didn't really do that much to her. Maia was pretty good at protecting her face but she did get a nose bleed from it.

* * *

**Hope it was at least okay. Haha. Reviews? They help me continue! Or, want to continue at least. Lol**


	5. Yuka's Warning

**Cursed Constellations**

Hello people! Guess what!

I have practically the next ten chapters planned! So, there won't be any dry spells for awhile! I'm not saying they're going to be up every day because school is starting again and a million other things. But they'll be up faster that's for sure. I just wanted to say a few things.

One. I know a lot of people have been wondering why Maia is not all like a Taurus. There are a couple reasons actually. I mainly based her off of her animal. Stubborn and strong. And I know Taurus's are usually kind and gentle and loving. Don't worry. Her soft side IS coming. It shows up a little bit in this chapter. She's just rough around the edges is all. I hope that clears a few things up.

Two. Not EVERYONE has been wondering this but in case you were, my horoscope is a Scorpio. (: Though I'm not as evil as Ryuu, I promise. Haha.

Three...well...I guess that's it. Haha. I hope that you guys are liking my story (:

**~~ Animic (Egg) ~~**

* * *

**V**Yuna's Warning

* * *

Hatori was pacing outside the entrance to Akito's door. His mind was in a number of places, hardly focused on work. In fact, Hatori couldn't think of the last time he'd done anything to do with his job of being a doctor. This so-called family was taking of most, if not all, of his time. But, it was what Akito's wishes were.

His hands were shaking slightly, though he did not know why. The family wasn't a threat to them. Yet. So there was nothing to be afraid of. Right? There had never been a twin to the Sohma curse before, however, and it was highly unsettling for a number of reasons. Something big was going to happen, Hatori feared. Something bad.

He knocked three hard times on the God's door. There was a moment's hesitation and then Hatori heard a voice. A dry and raspy voice. It was obvious who it came from. "Come in." Akito.

Slowly, he opened the door. Akito was lying in his bed face up, his hands resting on his chest. It was natural, seeing as Akito has depleting health, but still sad nonetheless. He looked dreadful. Not only because of his health, Hatori figured. The twin curse was definitely putting a painful number on Akito. He was different. Scared, almost. His eyes were having a deathly staring contest with the ceiling directly above him. Of course, we all know why.

"I don't want anyone in that family going near us, Hatori," Akito said, barely over a whisper. Hatori had never heard Akito sound so desperate. This is something the Sohma family would never see. This side of Akito. He truly did love his family. He just had a difficult time showing it. When you've gone through the live Akito has, the ways of showing affection are limited and questionable.

"It can't be helped, Akito. Two of them are already enrolled in school. And they're only freshman. I'm sure more are on their way," Hatori said with a regretful sigh. What Akito didn't realize was that Hatori didn't like this family any more than he did. The family hadn't ever done anything to him, per say, but you never know what could happen. And Hatori didn't want to take any chances.

"Then un-enroll them!" he snapped.

"I don't have that kind of power! I'm a doctor, not a genie." Akito looked at Hatori with hateful eyes. Bad enough to pierce his heart. Seeing them, Hatori figured he better come up with a solution just to tone Akito down for now. "I will escort Haru and Momiji to school tomorrow to possibly meet the two at school. That's the best I can do, Akito. There aren't any other options."

Normally, Hatori wouldn't go out of his way to do something like this. He had deadlines. He had paperwork and patients. A real job. But something was on his mind. Something, for some reason, he knew was true. This family spells disaster for the Sohmas.

Haru and Momiji walked silently side by side. Their shoulders were hunched, grabbing the straps of their backpack. They glanced at each other nervously in confusion. Neither of them knew what was going on. The way Hatori was walking. The way he…looked at things. The way he looked at them. Hatori was different, no doubt about that.

Haru had picked up on this awhile ago when he spoke with Hatori but this was all knew for Momiji. Hatori was stiff enough already but Momiji had never seen him this on edge.

Hatori had not told either of them why he had decided to walk them to school. It's not like it was a nice day to go for a walk. It was drizzling. Dark clouds were out. The more Haru thought about it, the more he started to figure it out.

Haru stood up straight and turned his head to look at Hatori. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. Why? Well, that's easy. Hatori had entrusted top secret information with him and specifically told him that no one else had the slightest idea what was going on. That included Momiji. So, he thought better of going on a rampage with Momiji standing right there.

It all made sense to him now. Hatori was coming to see Maia and Ryuu. But why? He still hadn't figured out why Hatori had such a vested interested in the two. The Eto family. What made them so special?

When the reached the school entrance, Haru gestured Momiji to go up ahead. Momiji ran off and it was just him and Hatori. Before Hatori could take another step, Haru stepped in front of him with his arms crossed, glaring at him.

"What do you want from Maia?" he interrogated meanly. He knew that he was not supposed to be disrespectful to his elders, let alone a doctor, but this was a serious question that he needed answers. To hell with authority.

Hatori narrowed his eyes in response. "That is none of your concern. And if you knew what was good for you, you'd stay away from her."

Haru squinted in confusion and rolled his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean? You're the one that wanted me to find out more about her-"

"Well, now I'm telling you not to. Stay away from the Eto family. Else you defy Akito!" Hatori boomed. With that, Hatori brushed past Haru and walked inside.

Haru stood there stunned. Else he defy Akito? He was really confused now. Why did Akito order him to stay away from them? What was going on? He really didn't see the big deal. Maia and Ryuu were just high school students. How dangerous could they be?

With a sigh, Haru made his way towards his first class. They had arrived at school a little later than usual but it was okay. It was worth it, he supposed, even though he didn't find out anything.

As he was walking on his way to class, he heard a big commotion. He was not at all surprised to see that Maia was the center of it.

"You're Maia, right? I don't remember ever seeing you in school," a guy said near her with a smile but Maia only frowned and glared at the boy.

"People like you are the reason I never went to school," she spat with hatred.

"So, Maia, little question. You available?" another guy asked with a grin and a little too much interest.

"No," she said. With that, she tried to walk away from the group but a guy close to her reacted.

"Come on, we're just trying to have a friendly conversa-" the boy tried to wrap his arm around Maia but she wouldn't have that. Without another word, Maia kicked the guy in the nose. The boy kept screaming that 'stupid b*tch broke my nose' as the others took him to the school nurse.

Maia wasn't laughing. In no way did she think any of that was funny. Her glare only remained and she started to head her way to class but Haru stepped in front of her.

"You know, people might actually like you better if you didn't pound them so much," he said with a small grin. Maia, however, did not find the comment amusing.

"I have to when they ask for it," she told him. Maia seemed to be very easily offended. Say one thing and she'll beat the cr*p out of you. Haru found it extremely amusing.

"I'll give ya that," he told her with a smile. "They were asking for it."

Maia didn't have an expression for this one. She wasn't frowning or glaring, which was a good sign. But, she wasn't exactly smiling. Haru supposed this was as good as he got with a good reaction from Maia. Her version of a smile was not frowning. It was good enough for him.

Haru looked down at his watch and took a breath. "We're gonna be late." With that, both of them walked fast to class. Made it past the door just as the bell rung. The teacher was not pleased.

"Seat down, Haru and Maia!" he ordered. Without a word, both of them took their seats. He didn't say anything to Maia for the first part of class, but he did find himself staring at her a lot. He wasn't trying to freak her out or anything. He just wanted to see why Hatori was so interested in her. He can't like her. How can you like someone you've never met? Besides, he was interested in Ryuu too. It was definitely the Eto family…something was up with the Etos.

About half-way through class, the phone rang. Maia didn't notice. She was too busy not paying attention. After the teacher put down the phone, he looked towards Maia.

"Maia. You need to go to the office," he said nonchalantly. All the kids in the class looked at Maia and 'oooohed' like she was in deep shit. She knew what this was about, pretty much. The broken nose. Who cares? Guys were such pansy's. It's true, though. Girls have a better grip on pain than guys did.

With a roll of her eyes, she grabbed her backpack and headed to the office. She'd gotten out of other fights; she could get out of this one too. They were all the same. Besides, this time she had a reason to break his nose.

When she exited the door, she went passed a man. He had jet black hair going across one of his eyes. From what she could tell, the eye was cloud white. He stared at her with a deathly interest that sent goose bumps across her arms. The guy was definitely intimidating, that was for sure.

With hesitance, she went towards the office. Very aware of the fact that the man was slowly, but surely, following her. It was a nonchalant walk. But he was most definitely there.

She opened the door to the office and saw a girl with red hair standing at the counter. Purple eyes and wearing a yellow dress. Maia wasn't completely surprised. Maia forced a smile which the lady didn't completely return but her face was calm nonetheless.

She motioned for Maia to follow her in which she took her to a hall of the school that was slightly secluded. It was near the library, where the lady worked.

At sight, the girl looked completely harmless. Like the last thing she would ever do would be to kill a fly. That's exactly how Yuka was, too. Yuka didn't usually get mad and she was selfless. In a way, she was the mother to every zodiac member. Nice to have around, actually. But despite her normal overly happy appearance, she did not look pleased at the current moment.

"Maia, did you get into another fight again?" she asked sadly. Her eyes were hurt. She wasn't a fighting kind of person. Never so much as bit anybody.

Maia avoided her eyesight though she could not lie. Yuka had it with all the other teachers at school. She knew almost everything. "Yeah."

"I cannot cover for you again, Maia. Can't you understand that? I've done my best to keep Kaikou from finding out about your battles, even had a few chats with the principal, but it's not easy when they keep happening. Can't you control your rage?" she pleaded. Maia had no idea that Yuka had been hiding her fights from Kaikou. For this, she was very grateful. And she actually felt pretty guilty now.

"Yuka, I've been trying," she said truthfully. "But it's not easy."

"I know. It's your instinct. Can't you save your fights for Ryuu, though? Or the dojo? Anything would be better than innocent school boys."

Maia hung her head slightly. Yuka was right. Ryuu would be more than happy to fight her if that's what it took to get her anger out. Hell, even a punching bag would work. She just had so much anger…it was hard.

"I'll try harder, Yuka. I'm sorry."

Yuka nodded with a small smile. She opened her arms and gave Maia a hug which Maia returned. It's true, Maia hated almost everyone. But she had a deep soft spot for her family. Everybody, really. She'd give her life for any of the Zodiac. Especially Kaikou. She just had a difficult way of showing it.

"If by the end of the day you really need to beat up someone, there's this really obnoxious guy that follows me around at the coffee house," Yuka said with a smile. Maia laughed slightly and nodded, waving to Yuka. Then, she headed back to class.

Yuka couldn't help but smile as Maia walked away. She loved Maia. She loved all of the Zodiac, really. They were all very dear to her. They were more than family to her.

Yuka worked in the school library. She didn't live in the Eto estate but in a cottage outside of town. It was a quiet and small little place. While Yuka absolutely loved her family, she was very independent and always has been. Her favourite place to be was with her books at home.

As she made her way back to the library, she was stopped. A man with jet-black hair stood near the school lockers, staring at her. She was immediately intimidated. He was extremely handsome. He had one eye, however, that looked a little cloudy. She didn't get a very good look at it though because it was covered with his hair. She had never seen a beautiful man before for she had never thought a man could be beautiful. She couldn't have been more wrong. This man proved it.

"Hello," she said, with lack of a better word to say. He was staring at her strangely. Never in her life had she had a man, let alone a person, look at her like that. She couldn't quite describe it.

"You are related to Maia Eto?" he asked her with authority. At this, he stood completely up, towering over her like an ogre. At first, Yuka couldn't find anything in her mouth to say.

"I…uhm…yes. Why? Is she in trouble?" she asked, slightly desperate. For a moment, she thought that Kaikou had sent someone to spy on the school, specifically Maia, to see that she was keeping her end up the bargain as far as school. The thought terrified her.

"Not by me, don't worry," he assured her. Hatori couldn't help but grin. She wasn't the first one to be terrified of his presence, and she wouldn't be the last either. "I've recently grown a…vested interest in Maia and was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

Her eyes suddenly narrowed. It didn't seem Yuka was going to give out such information so easily. "What do you need it for? Are you going to tell Kaikou-sama?" she couldn't help but ask. Hatori raised his eyes and shook his head.

"No. I don't know who Kaikou is." He was completely confused and his faced showed it. Kaikou-_sama. _Akito-_sama. _Kaikou must be the name of their god. Realizing that he had gone into a thinking trance, he snapped out of it. "My name is Hatori Sohma. I am a…a doctor. I've heard some complaints from the school through some of my cousins that go here and just wanted to see that she was alright." Not a complete lie but a lie nonetheless.

"Maia is fine," Yuka said, still slightly on edge. "She has bones of steel," Yuka said with a smile as if the line was a long-lasting inside joke. "My name is Yuka Eto," she told him.

Hatori nodded, meaning he was pleased to meet her. He was pleased to meet anyone with the surname of Eto, quite frankly. In his mind, he tried to figure out if Yuka could possibly be a Zodiac member. He thought of the chance to hug her, just to see, but it was too dangerous. Nothing good would have came of it because either way he would end up transforming.

"Thank you for your time," he said with a small bow and made off on his way. He realized how stupid it was of him to come here. Just what was he supposed to figure out. What was he going to tell Akito? Even if he could find a chance to meet Maia or Ryuu…what would he say? He wouldn't tell them of the Sohma curse. Absolutely not. Just what was he hoping to accomplish by coming her? Hatori didn't know.

But Yuka wasn't satisfied. "What do you really want from her?" she asked. It wasn't a mean tone, for anything that came out of Yuka was sweet and soft, but it was a demanding tone regardless.

Hatori turned around and looked at her in surprise. He was slightly speechless. "You're smart. But I cannot reveal that. I daresay we will be hearing a lot of each other sometime soon, however."

With that, Hatori turned the corner and out the doors of the school. Leaving Yuka to stand in confusion at what he said.

* * *

**Don't worry, later I will reveal what Yuka's Zodiac is. Until then, what do you guys think it is? :) If you guess it, I'll be happy cause that means I got her personality right. Haha. If not...oh well. I tried. :P**

**No new characters next chapter. Sorry. But the next chapter DOES have to do with them running into eachother. But do they transform? The suspsense is killing you, I know! Haha. **

**I changed some of their theme songs! In case you guys care. lol. Maia's theme is still Supermassive Black Hole, by Muse. Because I love that song. Ryuu's theme song is Sidewinder, by Avenged Sevenfold. Kaikou's theme is Down with the Sickness, by Disturbed. (I know, intense songs. lol. But they fit, trust me.) Yuka's theme is Fly Me Away, by Annie Little. A cute song. **

**If you want to listen to ALL of their theme songs, go to playlist (the website) . Type in Bumblebee107 and switch the search to Users. Click it and the playlist that shows up should be called 'Cursed Constellations.' They're not in any particular order but oh well. So far, that's every single characters theme songs so you know what to expect. lol. But I won't tell you who's who yet :P **


	6. With One Exception

**Cursed Constellations**

Haha, okay, so I'm no longer going to make any promises on updating. :P I can only promise you that I won't ever stop writing the story. That's good enough, right? Hehe. -wipes sweat off brow- Anyway! I like this chapter just cause Yuka is so sweet and adorable! And I love Hatori. So much. He's got to make one of my favorite. Haru is okay too but Hatori is just so mysterious and awesome.

In this, the intro is actually longer than the chapter. Haha. Should be flip-flopped. Oh well. But as of now, I've got about 14 chapters planned. It's just a matter of getting them onto Microsoft Word in a way that I am acceptable with. I'm not gonna promise another chapter soon. Might be, though. I have the next few weeks till school starts back up. Once school starts, well, there REALLY won't be updating. Haha.

Well enough of my babbling! Get on with the story!

**~~ Animic (Egg) ~~**

* * *

**VI**

**With One Exception**

* * *

Hatori walked through the woods with something in his hand. It was a bouquet. A bouquet of yellow daffodils. In his other hand was a sheet of paper with an address on it. It was time to meet one of the Etos. He had to.

Akito didn't know he was doing this. Perhaps it would have been better off if he did not. Besides, Hatori was doing his research like Akito had instructed him to. He is finding out more about the family. But he needs a person from the family to make his assumptions accurate. It was time to be forward.

As he walked through the woods, he found what he was looking for. Next to a small dirt road with a mailbox with yellow flowers painted on it was a yellow small cottage. It was quite cute. It was well tended. Flowers were everywhere. Hatori looked at the bouquet and then at the flowers. The majority of the flowers in her flowerbed were daffodils. It must have been intuition.

With a lump in his throat, he went to the front door and knocked slightly

"Coming," a voice said from inside. It sounded like a voice from an angel and a smile grew to his face. He was ready.

The door opened a beautiful woman answered the door. She had red hair and a yellow dress on that matched the flowers that he held in his hand. She had purple eyes that astounded him. He had never seen such eyes. She looked older than most of the Etos. Mid-Twenties, if he had to guess. A little younger than him but not much.

"May I help you?" the lady asked. Her eyes stared into him. Yes, she knew who he was. How could she forget?

"Hello, Miss Yuka, is it?" he asked, she nodded. "May I come in?"

She stared at him for a while, her right hand on the door and her left on the doorway. Her purple eyes seemed to interrogate him. She didn't understand why he was here. However, she nodded and slowly stepped away from the door, opening it slightly for him to come in. He walked through ever so swiftly, his eyes looking around inside the house as she closed the door.

"You are Hatori," she stated. Hatori nodded. "You were the…the doctor. The man that asked me questions about Maia. What do you want with her?" she asked. She tried to make her voice sound harsh but it didn't work. Her voice was quavering for many reasons. Hatori was a beautiful man and she couldn't believe that he was here. That and she didn't understand at all. She was scared.

"I'd actually like to ask some questions about you, Miss Yuka," he said.

Yuka's eyes widened. "Me?" she asked. Hatori nodded. She was almost flattered but then her eyebrows tightened. Why? Who was this man? She pursed her lips together and walked past him towards the living room then motioned towards a chair for him so sit as she positioned herself on a chair on the opposite side.

"Thank you," he said as he sat down. He had no notebook with him. He wouldn't need it. Not for this. He was pretty sure he could remember something like this. Something so important.

Yuka sat awkwardly on the chair. It was clear she was uncomfortable and it was obvious why. Yuka didn't know this man. All she knew was that he was one of the most beautiful men she had ever seen. But, regardless, she was uncomfortable with him here and she was too kind a being to tell him to leave.

"Your surname is Eto, correct?" he asked. Yuka nodded. "Yuka…do you mind if I ask you some slightly personal questions?'

Yuka looked at him oddly. "What do you mean?"

"Have you ever been…active…with a man?" he asked. At this, Yuka's eyes widened.

Hatori knew how strange this sounded. A man coming to a woman's house he barely knew to ask questions about her sexual life but it was key. People who are cursed with a spell like the Zodiac do not HAVE a sexual life. It wouldn't be possible.

"I beg your pardon," she said, offended. "What do you want? Why are you really here? I demand to know. I will not answer these questions."

Hatori smiled. "I'll take that as a no," he said. Yuka frowned even more at this.

"Do not avoid the question, sir Hatori," she said as sternly as she could manage.

Hatori sighed. He didn't want to reveal this information to her. Or admit to something as crazy as his curse. But something told him that he was not wrong. There WAS an Eto curse. If it turned out he was wrong, he would just erase the memory. It was as simple as that. No harm done.

"Yuka," he said, standing up and walking towards her. He sat on a chair near her and he folded his hands together. "There is something about your family, isn't there? A secret. A family secret. A curse."

Yuka gulped and looked very nervous. "I'm sure I don't know…I don't….know what you're talking about," she said, very nervous. Her eyes were on the ground and she kept folding and unfolding her legs.

"Your family is not alone, Yuka," he told her. Her eyes widened at this and she looked at him strangely.

"What?" she asked, now she was really confused.

"Yuka, I will be straight with you. My family is the Sohma family. I am the Sohma family doctor. Our family is cursed with something called the Chinese Zodiac. According to my observations, your family is also cursed. Except your family is cursed with the Western Zodiac. If it sounds crazy to you, say the word and I will leave. But I need to know this. It is very important. It could be the downfall of both our families but in order to prevent it, I just need to know that I am correct. Am I?"

"You are saying that your family…your family is the-"

"Chinese Zodiac, yes."

"And we are the Western," she said, deep in thought. Hatori nodded. "You know, this makes perfect sense because one day, at the supermarket, I _swear _I saw someone turn into a dog but I didn't think anything of it."

"Yes, that would have been Shigure. You're just lucky he wasn't naked," Hatori said with a smirk. Shigure naked in a supermarket with dozens of women. Not a good matter to come to terms with.

Yuka laughed even though she didn't know what she was laughing at. "So we aren't alone…." She said, pondering out loud. "Oh, but this is a bad thing."

Hatori nodded. "That's what I've been trying to figure out. You are close to Maia, yes?" Yuka nodded. "Has she, recently, come to you with any problems about the boys in her school?"

Yuka shrugged. "Well, I don't know. She has a lot of problems with boys at her school. Maia has a very bad temper. She did tell me about one that just gets her blood boiling. She told me he had a rather unusual hair color."

Hatori seemed interested now. "What color?"

"White."

Hatori nodded. It made sense to him. "Yes, that's Haru. He's the Ox. If you don't mind me asking, what Zodiac is Maia?"

"She is the Taurus."

Hatori smiled. "Yes, I thought as much. It'd be only natural that the Bull and the Ox wouldn't get along."

Yuka didn't say anything for awhile. She was afraid to sound stupid but she had to ask. "Sir Hatori. What do you think would happen if two….if the Eto and the Sohma family were to-"

"I do not know. I'm not sure I want to find out. But it would be best if the families did not know of each other. Have any of your family begun to suspect anything unusual?"

"No, not at all. This is the first I am hearing of it. Not even our God or our Doctor has ever come to me with this information before."

"It would be best that they didn't. My God, Akito, is a very angry god. I'm sure he sees this curse something on the lines of competition. If he found out there was another god…well, I'm not sure how well that would go. How is the manner of your God?"

"Kaikou-dono," she said, shivering slightly. "is a very hateful and terrifying man."

Hatori nodded. He figured. Every God of the curse in the past has been an angry and terrifying person. Man or woman.

"Then it would be unwise for them to meet. It was nice meeting you, Yuka. Though, if I may, I'd like to ask you not to share this with any of your family. It's almost bad enough that I know." Yuka nodded and Hatori escorted himself out.

Haru was walking to school alone. His hands were on the straps of his backpack and he was biting his lip. Ever since Hatori mentioned the Eto's, he's been trying to figure out what's so special about them. They were…different. Unique. Special.

When he got to school, he heard the usual. What he expected to hear. Maia in another fight. With Kyo, not surprisingly. That is a pretty bad combination, too. Yuki and Kyo fighting was not so big of a deal because Yuki was always calm about it. But Maia and Kyo were both loud, violet, and outspoken.

"Take it back!" Kyo screamed, lunching a cocked fist at her face.

"Make me, carrot top!" Maia yelled back. Haru smirked. She must have picked that word up from Uo. With that, Kyo starts to run towards her but Haru sees something. It all happens in slow motion. Kyo had tripped and was starting to fall into Maia. Oh, crap.

Quickly, Haru ran towards the two. He planned to push the two apart but that didn't really happen. Instead of separating them, he put himself in the middle and Maia and Haru bumped into each other. Haru gasped. Maia screamed.

He shut his eyes tight and then slowly opened them. He expected to see his clothes on the ground but he didn't. He looked up at Maia with nervous and freaked out eyes. He was sitting on the ground in his human form.

The funny thing was Maia had a similar expression on her face. She was looking at her hands like she was amazed. Like she couldn't believe what had happened.

Haru made an awkward cough as Yuki came forward to help him up. "Thanks," Haru mumbled. He looked at Kyo who was out of breath and his face seemed just as amazed as his.

Maia stood up awkwardly. In a few seconds, she was not alone.

Ryuu.

Ryuu was out of breath. He was standing next to Maia and looked amazed. "Maia, I came as soon as I saw…lemme talk to you." Without another word, Maia was being dragged away by Ryuu.

Ryuu took her behind a small building holding her arm slightly. "What happened?" he asked.

Maia shook her head looking at the ground. "I. I don't know. I thought I'd transform but…but nothing happened. This has never happened-" POOF!

All of a sudden, Maia's clothes were on the ground and there stood a Bull. Taurus, the Bull. "Maia?" Ryuu exclaimed.

"What just happened?" Maia asked, bewildered.

* * *

**Ooh! Suspense! Next chapter will be called the Plague. It only gets worse! Muahahaha! (:**

**Lotta dialogue in this one and I apologize. But I do find Hatori very entertaining. Haha. And I know you guys are just sitting on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what sign Yuka is. I'm afraid you may not find that one out for awhile. I have a few ideas for her (:**

**Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews and subscriptions! They make me smile every time I see them (:**


	7. The Plague

**Cursed Constellations**

_Ugh. I refuse to promise to update now. haha. I don't ever want to give up this story; that's all I can promise. I'm currently trying to finish another one of my stories. Once that one is done, maybe I'll be able to sleep easy. I just need to stop coming up with new stories to write. haha. Anyway, I promised myself I'd update ALL my stories TODAY so here is Cursed's. _

_Hope you like it at least as a buffer! No new characters this time, but they're coming. Soon! (:_

* * *

VII

The Plague

* * *

It was the weekend and Haru was stressed. The strangest thing happened. Seconds after Maia was dragged away by Ryuu, Haru transformed. Nothing like that has ever happened before. A delayed transformation? Was that even possible? It didn't make any sense.

He knocked twice on the door. "Come in," he heard from inside.

Hatori looked better. He felt better, too. His talk with Yuka had made him feel better about the curse. He felt better now that he knew instead of just assuming. He wasn't sure how to break the news to Akito yet. In time. Hatori wasn't so sure how well Akito would take it. He was already freaking out when it was just a rumor. A theory. Now that it's real…well…all hell could break loose. And he was right.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's Maia. That Eto girl." Haru sighed.

Hatori narrowed his eyes. "What about her?"

Haru sighed, not sure how to put this. He didn't even know how to explain it. He didn't know what had happened. All he knew was that something fishy was up. Something bad. Terrible.

"Kyo and her were fighting the other day. He was about to run into her and I tried to stop it but…" Haru paused, trying to find the right words.

"But?" Hatori asked.

"We ran into each other accidentally. Except, I didn't transform. At least, not at first. Maia left with her friend and then seconds later, I transformed. It was like a delayed transformation."

Hatori wasn't sure what to make of this. A delayed transformation? Well, that didn't sound too terrible. It's not as bad as he thought would happen. Hatori didn't really know what he thought would happen. Something bad was all he thought.

"Huh," Hatori said. "That's good news."

Haru narrowed his eyes. "Good news?" he said in disbelief. "Hatori, you're hiding something from me and as Maia's friend, I demand to know what it is!"

Hatori laughed. "You think you're her friend? Haru, she hates you."

"How do you know that?"

"I've been studying that family for months. I'd have to be an idiot to not at least know that."

"Hatori. What is going on? Why are you so interested in her and why did Akito ban me from seeing the Eto's. And why was there a delayed transformation? I know you know."

Hatori sighed. This was exactly the kind of thing he didn't want to happen. Telling someone like Haru the secret of the curse would cause a riot. Not to mention Akito would be furious. He should have gone with his gut and ignored him. Besides, it was none of his business. The only people that knew were himself, Akito, and Yuka. And, if he knew what was good for him, he should have erased Yuka's memory. But he didn't think she would breathe a word.

His mind wandered to Yuka. He never did manage the guts to ask her what Zodiac sign she was. It didn't really matter but Hatori was curious. She had beautiful red hair but he couldn't think of many that were red in the Zodiac. Perhaps the Scorpio but that was most definitely Ryuu.

There were certain mysteries that he didn't even think to ask. Virgo. Aquarius. Libra. Gemini. Sagittarius. None of those five had animals. What happened to them? What did they turn into? He couldn't imagine a person turning into a pot of water or a set of scales. Turning into an animal was one thing but inanimate objects? Strange.

Hatori snapped too looking at Haru who was still glaring at him. "I can't tell you that, Haru. Akito made strict orders that no one should know or be informed or alarmed or anything."

"Then maybe I'll roll up to Akito and tell him that you told me to spy on the Eto's."

Hatori sighed and looked at Haru. He sure knew how to break him. Hatori couldn't afford for Akito to know that. Hatori was not to have told anything of the Eto's to anybody. Not a soul.

"I see there's no fooling you, Haru," he said. Hatori reached into his desk and pulled out something. It was what he had been working on. Two sheets of paper. One was the Chinese Zodiac Calendar. The other was the Western Zodiac Calender. Haru took them and looked at each of them. "Figure it out yet?" Hatori asked.

Haru didn't look like he believed it. "There's another curse?"

Hatori nodded. "It's what I've been researching." He took the paper and fingered them, glancing off into space. "I've recently had contact with one of the Zodiac and my theory has been proven correct."

Haru frowned. "Who'd you talk to?"

"None of your business. Anyway. I erased her memory the second I got the information. It would be unwise for anyone to know of this. Outside of our family, of course. But, Haru, you cannot tell a soul. Akito would-"

"I know. I won't tell anyone."

Haru left in a hurry, seeming very alarmed. Hatori sighed. He had lied to him about Yuka but it didn't matter. He didn't feel like erasing her memory. Not after she had been so kind. She almost reminded him of someone…but he didn't care to think about that.

Haru made his way down the hall, thinking this information over. It almost made sense. But at the same time it was crazy. Another curse? Impossible! But was it so? Was it so hard to believe that the Sohma family was not the only one cursed?

The Eto's were interesting anyway. Well, the two that he had met. Maia was extremely aggressive and Ryuu…well…an interesting character. It did make sense as their personalities were so strange just like many of the Sohma. And that man…Kaikou…he resembled very many traits that are present in Akito. The God.

He was scratching his head as he went outside the Sohma estate when he saw a figure. One of his favourite of the Zodiac. Kisa. Apparently, she had come to visit him that day.

"Haru!" Kisa said happily. She ran up to him and jumped. Haru caught her in a hug. Then, suddenly, there was a large POOF!

Haru was speechless. He was a cow and his clothes were sitting on the ground next to him. Kisa looked at him in shock. Like she didn't understand what had happened. Kisa's mother came over as well and was perplexed.

"W-why-" Kisa started.

"I don't know," Haru said, extremely concerned. They sat in awkward silence for awhile when all of a sudden there was another POOF! A tiger laid next to an ox with two sets of clothes next to them. "I have to go. Sorry, Kisa."

With that, he left in a hurry. He grabbed his clothes in his mouth and ran back to Hatori's office. People moved out of his way for him quickly. After all, a cow was barging through the room.

Haru opened the door with his head and dropped his clothes on the ground. "Hatori!" he exclaimed.

Hatori looked over and rolled his eyes. "What happened now?"

"No, Hatori. It was Kisa."

Hatori's eyes widened in shock. Kisa? But Kisa was a part of the family. "That's not possible."

"Hari, what's going on? I can't even hug my family members? We _both_ transformed except hers was a delayed transformation again."

Hatori was speechless. He couldn't believe this was happening. "This is bad." He didn't know exactly what was going on but he had a hunch. He knew he was right but he seriously hoped he was wrong. He sat down and held his head in his hands.

"What do you reckon has happened?"

Hatori was stunned. What, exactly, had happened? There has never been an occurrence like this, before. No Zodiac member ever turned while hugging another Zodiac member. It didn't make sense. This was bad.

"Haru, stay away from them." It was made in a low and commanding voice. Hatori meant business. This was serious.

Haru looked taken aback a little bit. There was a large POOF and while Hatori turned the other way in his chair, Haru got changed, yelling at him the whole time. "What do you mean, Hatori? Something is going on and I want to know what it is!"

There was an expression of annoyance in Hatori's face. Kids these days. Think they knew everything. Well, they did not. Not even Hatori knew what was going on with his little experiment. It's what made him a bit uneasy. Hatori was used to having control over his life; over the little things, that mattered. This, well, this was an entirely different ball game; and Hatori had no control over it whatsoever.

"I've told you what I know, Haru. Anything else I say would be estimation. You're lucky I told you what I did and now you will do what I tell you. Stay away from them, I don't want any of our family going near theirs until I talk this over with Akito and we figure this whole thing out."

"You can't stop us from interacting with them. I go to their school, ya know-"

"If you keep playing up this act, there's a possibility you could lose a lot more than your inability to hug a person. This incident changes everything and may even cause a relocation of the entire family, mainly the Zodiac, and you will be subject to this."

Haru was speechless. Relocated? It was that bad…?

"Now, leave me be."

* * *

_Hope you liked it! And I apologize again for the wait. I really want to start writing this story again more productively! I love this story and can't wait to introduce you to all my characters! (: Review?_


	8. Double Trouble

**Cursed Constellations**

_Konnichiwa! I'm sorry it's taken so long. I would have updated this much sooner but my friend died on the 22nd and so I've been going to his funeral and wake and catching up with friends. And then I got a sinus infection where I was miserable. Ugh. It just hasn't been a good couple weeks. I have up until the 15th chapter of this story planned and many plot bunnies to think of! So, like I said, this story will never stop. I just don't have a lot of time. The next chapter should be fairly easy to write and then chapter 10 is going to be a doozey! So, hope you'll keep reading and bearing with me (:_

* * *

**VIII**  
Double Trouble

* * *

It was night time when Hatori reached his destination. He hadn't bathed in days. He had barely eaten. He had never been under so much stress. Never had he worried so much for his family. It was killing him.

_She_ answered the door, bewildered. "Hatori-sama?" she asked, completely surprised.

Hatori coughed, letting himself through the door while Yuka held it open for him. "We need to talk."

"You look awful," she said, but he didn't listen. Hatori sat down in the living room and buried his face into his hands. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"I shouldn't be here, but I needed to see you. To talk," he said in a low, hoarse voice. Yuka slowly sat herself down, her face turning dead serious and worried.

"Okay…" she said. "Hatori, you're scaring me."

"Oh, we should _all_ be scared." It took Hatori awhile to compose himself. He took a lot of long, deep breaths before he continued. "If you're anything like me….you know the curse is a heavy burden, correct? It eliminates all chances of a personal life, except for those inside of the Zodiac. It's very painful." Yuka only nodded. "We have a problem."

"Haru and Maia had an incident…I found out yesterday. They ran into each other. Only, at first, they didn't transform. Haru described as sort of delayed. That it took a while, but he did, still, transform. So, we know one thing about our families. We do still transform upon contact."

"I guessed that much," she interrupted. "I mean, the delayed thing is strange but overall, it's nothing to freak out abo-"

"Please, let me finish," he chimed in. "Forgive me but I haven't even come to the worst part. He came home. A girl from our family was waiting for him. Just a little girl. The Tiger, actually. She and Haru are very close. She was paying him a visit. They hugged and he…he transformed."

Yuka was silent. She said nothing.

"In our Zodiac, males and females are allowed to hold each other. I assume it is the same for your family. This…this came as a blow."

"He….he transformed?" she asked. Hatori nodded.

"They both did." Yuka was, again, silent. "I'm beginning to worry that it set off some sort of plague. That they are infected. I'm not entirely sure but I fear that now, male, female, zodiac or not, they will not be able to hug anyone. I have no idea if it is long-term or not. But I came here to warn you. If no one in your family knows, your God should know now, at the very least."

"….Kaikou-dono?" she asked, almost in a blank statement. Her eyes went transfixed towards the ground and she bit her lip.

"Of course, if this information puts you in any sort of danger…" Hatori started, but stopped himself. If this Kaikou was anything like Akito was, bad news was taken quite harshly. "Forget I asked."

"No, you're right," she said. "He should know. They should both be aware of what has happened."

Hatori only nodded. It's not like she was the only one being thrown to the wolves. Not only would Hatori have to deal with Akito's anxiety about what that family did to Haru and Kisa, he will be at the wrath of Akito's anger for disobeying his orders. For letting Haru in on the 'secret'. Akito gave orders for no one to know; but it was necessary for at least one person to be one hundred per cent positive before he went snooping around in other family's affairs.

"Thank you for telling me this, Hatori-san," she finally said after a long beat of silence.

Hatori only nodded. He stood up and began to attempt to compose himself. There was a mirror near the chair he sat down at where he fixed his hair and sighed, seeing an exhausted doctor staring back at him. He really did look awful. Like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"I have overstayed my welcome. Please, have a good day." He went to the door but before he closed it he heard, _'wait, will I see you again?' _Hatori shut the door and walked away. He had a feeling they would be seeing enough of each other. Though, not in that pleasant kind of a way.

* * *

It's another day at school and Haru is digesting all the information that had been processed by the previous day. To his new formed knowledge, Haru had the inability to hug any girls, including ones from his family, and Hatori warned him that it may just be with anybody, including men. It also was possible that any type of contact with any person could turn him.

Haru stayed to himself the following day. He wouldn't touch anyone with his hands for fear he would turn. When he arrived at school, he decided he would test it afterwards on Tohru and Yuki. If he could hug Yuki. If he could even shake Tohru's hand. The curse was already bad enough…except now it's getting worse. It was almost hard to believe.

There's always that story. Where a new born boy is separated from his mother and is raised by a pack of wolves. That boy who is raised away from civilization starts to pick up animal qualities. Well, wolf qualities. He'll walk on his four legs. He'll grow like a wolf. Eat like a wolf. Prowl like a wolf. Could you blame him?

He can't talk. He has no manners. He is an animal.

Were the people of the Sohma family any different?

It almost made him sick…but it was very similar to being what people call a werewolf. Where the wolf lives inside you. Deep down inside Haru…was a cow. An ox dying to be released. Trapped inside this human body where he will be forced to live for eternity. It was its eternal prison.

What would the cow do now?

This is what he thought about when he took notes in his World History class. He wasn't thinking about the world war or how Nagasaki and Hiroshima got bombed. He was thinking about the ox.

A door opening closed his thoughts.

It was Ryuu. He looked…terrible. "Is Maia here?" he asked, almost desperately.

"Ryuu-" she said, asking his name as a question.

"Maia…can I talk to you…outside?"

"We're in the middle of class, son," the professor said, a little mad he was interrupted.

"Please, Akiyama-sama, let her speak with us." This time it was a woman with red hair. She seemed to work there as she was dressed professionally. Her eyes glanced to Haru where they lingered for a moment. The emotion on the woman's face as she looked at Haru was slightly perplexing. Like she knew him. He had never met her before. Well, that's not true. He must have seen her around school. But they'd never really spoken.

The professor nodded upon seeing clearly his co-worker and glanced at Maia, indicating her to leave.

The three huddled at the door and not three words could have been spoken when suddenly Maia quickly ran to her desk, grabbed her backpack, and ran out the door. Haru raised his eyes. The whole class was watching the scene up until the door slammed; even after, they all looked around slightly confused.

Haru had never seen Maia that way before. She looked desperate. Terrified. What could have happened to provoke that kind of emotion in her? It was different than the way she normally looked. She usually had that hard gaze that said get the f*ck away from me. But this…this was a different Maia. Clearly, he didn't know her at all.

Then, his thoughts trailed to Maia. She was part of a Zodiac. That must mean Ryuu was, too. What zodiac were they? How similar were they to the Sohmas? The Sohmas had a God. They had an 'outcast,' Kyo. They had a dark curse of misfortune. Did the Eto family have a similar curse?

Maia never returned to class and he never saw Ryuu or Maia for the rest of the day. Nor did he see the woman that gave him those mysterious glances. Who was she? Where did they go? What happened to Maia…?

As usual, Haru met up with Momiji after class and he was mostly tuning him out. Sometimes, he just couldn't listen to Momiji. He was way too happy. Of course, he was oblivious to the dangers that were currently around all of them. Haru just hoped that Momiji never made contact with Maia. Would that 'plague' spread to the whole family? That would just be chaos. Kagura would be crushed if she couldn't hug her Kyo. What if Haru could never hug Rin again? If she would even let him in the first place, that is.

Haru waited for Yuki and Tohru, as he mentioned he wanted to walk home with them. Kyo was there, too, of course.

"So, whatever happened to that Maia-san, Haru?" Yuki asked him. "That was quite a strange incidence the other day."

"Yeah. She could learn to keep her mouth shut," Kyo spat.

"Oh, I don't know. I don't think she was that bad," Tohru said.

"You don't have to defend everyone all the time, Tohru-"

"Oh, I don't know about that. People may surprise you."

"But she's not-"

"Kyo, you just hate her so much because she's exactly like you, you stupid cat," Yuki commented.

"Don't call me stupid!"

Before they could go at it, Haru interrupted them. "Hey! Shut up, you guys." They all blinked at Haru. "Tohru. Can I try something?"

"Uhm, yes, sure. I…" but before she could finish, Haru had taken her hand with his. He enclosed it tight and his hands trailed up her arm. Then, he lowered her head with his hands and kissed the top of her forehead. Maybe, he thought, it was lip contact that was the secret. Nothing happened.

"Haru, what the hell are you doing?" Haru then enclosed Kyo into a tight bear hug. "Ah! Get off!" Haru let go of Kyo and waited for a while. For what, he wasn't quite sure. Maybe a delayed transformation, again. "Hmm…nothing." That was good, right? But, he wasn't sure why it was so unsettling to him.

The three of them were looking at Haru strangely when he snapped back into his thoughts. "Let's go," he simply said, and began to walk towards their house. He was overdue for a visit with Shigure-sensei, anyway.

The four of them walked in silence; Tohru, Kyo and Yuki were staring at Haru oddly but he pretended not to notice. He was just as curious as Hatori was right now as to just what had happened to Haru since he made contact with Maia. What if it had been Kyo? Kagura would have caught it and gave it to everybody. It was a good thing Haru took the blow for him. Only Rin…but…he hasn't seen her in a long time.

They had gotten close to their house when all of a sudden, they heard someone crying. "Do you guys hear that?" Tohru asked. Of course, her motherly instincts would kick in. A child is crying: cue Tohru for the rescue.

Tohru made the others follow her and help her find the source of the little one, when she found her. The others were not far behind.

"Hello, there. Are you lost?" she asked, kindly. The girl looked no older than eight with black hair in pig tails. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked up at Tohru, not responding. "My name is Tohru," she smiled. "What's your name?"

"Chiyo," she sniffed, wiping tears from her face.

"Do you need some help finding your mommy and daddy, Chiyo?" she asked, squatting down next to the child. Haru saw Kyo roll his eyes and made his way back to the road.

When the child took her hands away from her eyes, what the group saw was slightly terrifying. The girls face was ghostly pale and one of her eyes was white and the other was a dark grey. Wrinkles were on her face and there was a small grey streak in her bangs. This girl looked eight and 80 at the same time.

But, Tohru wasn't fazed.

"Do you want to come with us? We can help you."

The child sobbed further still and hugged her knees on the ground. "I want Maia and Ryuu," she cried, mumbling into her knees.

"Maia and Ryuu?" Haru asked, seeming somewhat interested.

"Oh, Maia, that's right!" Tohru said, getting excited. "Are you talking about Maia Eto, Chiyo? Is she a friend of yours?"

Chiyo sniffed, wiping some tears away. "You know her?" she asked, almost desperately. Tohru nodded with a huge smile on her face making a 'mhm-hmm' noise. "She's my sister."

Haru's eyes widened. Maia is this girl's…sister? Perhaps this was why Maia looked so desperate and left early. It was because her sister was missing, and judging by the state of her sister, her sister was sick with something. It would be a terrible misfortunate, indeed, if she were off by herself. Haru couldn't help but wonder. Was Chiyo a part of the zodiac, as well?

Tohru was already helping the girl to stand as the girl began to hiccup and sniffle some more. She turned to Haru. "You've been to her house before, right, Haru?"

"Yeah," he said, almost absorbed in his thoughts.

"Great," Tohru smiled. She turned to the little girl. "You'll be home in no time."

Tohru gently grabbed Chiyo's left hand, which Chiyo held onto desperately and her right thumb went into her mouth. Kyo had left to go to the house but Yuki decided to tag along. He wouldn't leave without Tohru and Tohru would not leave until the girl was seen safely home. It must have brought up bad past memories of when Tohru got lost that one time.

It didn't take them long to reach the Eto estate. From what Haru remembered, the Sohma and Eto estates were ironically pretty close. He wondered if that was just a coincidence or if it was somehow fate's way of screwing them over. They hadn't yet reached the estate when they heard someone screaming. When they got closer, they saw Maia, Ryuu and that lady right outside the estate.

"Chiyo!" Maia screamed as she buried herself in the woman's shoulder. Ryuu looked a bit on edge as he watched the two of them, not sure what to do. He hovered around Maia's back side, barely touching her shoulders. Did they know, somehow? Did they know they weren't allowed to hold each other? "She's lost, Ryuu. She's lost!"

"We're gonna find her, Maia," Ryuu assured her.

"But what if we don't?" she croaked.

"Maia, we will find her," the older, red-haired lady said.

"It's been hours and all we've found is Black Chiyo!" she screamed. "WHERE IS MY SISTER, YUKA!" she screamed.

Wait a second…Black Chiyo?

"Maia!" Chiyo suddenly yelled as she saw her sister. Chiyo yanked the grip that Tohru had on her left hand and ran towards her sister. Tohru, Yuki and Haru walked towards the group and Tohru had a big smile on her face.

"Chiyo?" Maia asked, desperately, turning around. When she saw her, she looked like she was about to cry. "Chiyo." The two embraced in a hug and Maia kissed the side of her neck. She set her down and began to examine her sister's face, her fingers brushing over her wrinkles and her eye.

"Is she here?" Chiyo asked.

Maia smiled. "Yeah, she's here. We missed you." Maia encased her sister in a gigantic hug one more time, and then she saw Tohru, Yuki and Haru. She didn't even seem angry, for once. "You guys found her?" she asked desperately.

Tohru nodded. "We heard her crying in the woods on our way home from school and Haru knew the way to your house, so, we thought we'd bring her by," she explained.

Maia pursed her lips together. It truly did look like she were about to cry. "Thank you."

Tohru smiled. "You're welcome."

"I said don't touch me!" someone screamed. "Keep your hands to yourself and stop following me! I'm just going out for a walk-"

"Chiyo, you should stay inside and wait for-"

"I want to go and play on the playground!" she screamed. "I just said don't touch me! MAIA!" the person screamed again.

All of a sudden, a little girl ran out from the gates of the Eto estates and ran into the Chiyo that had been crying before, knocking the both of them down. The two girls stood up. They looked almost exactly the same except for one difference. The Chiyo that Haru had found had white hair. This one that came out screaming had black hair, and was almost a spitting image of her sister, Maia. Yet, they both had one white eye…and one completely black. Both of them had the wrinkles on their face and were ghostly pale.

"Watch where you're going!" the other one said, grudgingly.

"Chiyo, control your temper!" she yelled.

"You're one to talk!"

"Well, I'm a bad influence." Maia rolled her eyes.

"They're both named Chiyo?" Yuki asked her.

Suddenly, the frown appeared on Maia's face that they all seemed to know best on Maia. "I think it's time you all left. I'm grateful for what you did for my sister. Now get the hell off our property," she demanded.

Tohru only smiled. "Okay, well, it was nice meeting your sister. We'll see you at school." Yuki only nodded and the two of them turned around without looking back to go back to Shigure's house. Haru didn't move an inch, but, at the moment, Maia had already turned around for her sisters and they didn't even notice.

Maia was kneeling down in front of the sister who was crying. The one with white hair that Haru had saved. "Chiyo, you need to be more careful next time. You almost gave me a heart attack! Why were you outside by yourself?"

"I…I wanted to go to the playground," she said.

"And what did we _always_ warn you would happen if you left the estate by yourself?" Chiyo's face was beginning to change, Haru noted. The wrinkles on her face were disappearing and the color to her face was returning.

"Maia," Haru said. Suddenly, Maia's attention was drawn to behind her. She realized Haru was still there. Both Ryuu and Yuka, suddenly, stood in front of the Chiyos when she noticed him and Maia did, too.

"I thought I told you to leave," she demanded.

"I need to talk to you," he begged.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Yuka suddenly said.

"Do I know you?" Haru asked, slightly annoyed. Yuka blushed and didn't say another word.

"Hatori wouldn't want you to be here right now, Haru," the woman named Yuka suddenly said. "I suggest you stay as far away from this estate as you possibly can. Before something terrible happens."

Haru was stunted. "Wait…Hatori? How do you know Hatori?"

"Hold on a second. I have a question," Ryuu suddenly said. "Since Yuka won't spill the beans, what's this nonsense where I can't huge my Maia anymore."

"Don't call me your Maia!"

"Ryuu, I told you. I'll tell you la-"

"No, I want to know from the horse's mouth," Ryuu said, angrily, cutting off Yuka. It seemed clear that Ryuu and Yuka did not get along in the slightest. Ryuu had this untameable ability to whip everyone he wanted into shape, and that seemed to include Yuka.

Haru looked at all of them who were glaring at him viciously. "Perhaps we better discuss this over coffee."

* * *

_So, there you have it! A new character! Can anyone guess what zodiac member Chiyo is? I would think it's fairly obvious. And, I haven't given away what Yuka is, yet. That one is not as obvious but I try to give VERY small hints. You will find out her zodiac sign in chapter 14. So...get comfortable with the mystery. I'm not 100% sure yet. Maybe I'll mention it earlier. I haven't decided yet. But, for now, that's how long it'll take. The next new character you will meet is in chapter 11. And then another in chapter 12, I believe. Get excited!_

_Hope you liked this chapter!_


	9. The Truth Comes Out

**Cursed Constellations**

Hey Furuba fans!

Again, sorry it took so long. I had two 15 page papers to write for school and then went into a Merlin-watching phaze. But, I've completed the next chapter! Recently got inspired. Maybe I'll write another one soon? I hope so. I really like this new image thing for fanfiction.

The picture you see currently (6/15/2012) is Maia, the Taurus. Our main character (: At least, that's how I imagined her.

Anyway. Hope you like this chapter! You don't meet any new characters, unfortunately, but you find out Chiyo's zodiac. In the next chapter, Kaikou and Akito will meet. AAHH! And you will also meet this Jin that they speak of in this chapter. At least...that's my plan so far. Well, enjoy!

**Animic Over + Out**

* * *

**IX  
**The Truth Comes Out

* * *

It was one of the most awkward dinners any of them had ever been to. Ryuu, Maia, Yuka and Haru sat at a medium sized table at a coffee house. Ryuu and Maia were glaring at Haru from the opposite side of the table. Yuka and Haru were exchanging eye contact back and forth awkwardly. Clearly, they both knew something that the other two did not and it was a mutual understanding.

"Hurry," Haru said, desperately, over the phone. Haru had asked to use a company phone to call Hatori and notified him of the situation. When the waitress left, Haru glanced uncomfortably at the other four. "Hatori should be here shortly," he said, quietly.

"Good," Yuka said after the large amount of silence. They were avoiding the elephant in the room. Time to question.

"So, I would wait until Hatori got here to explain it all to you but…" Haru looked around the table at Ryuu who was staring daggers at him. "….something tells me I'll be buried alive if I wait any longer."

"Haru, ignore Ryuu. He's always like this," Yuka said, sternly looking over at Ryuu. "Behave yourself."

"I wanna know what's going on," Maia said, finally. "After that little…incident the other day. Something happened. That's all you get to know but I just want to know one thing. What did you do to me?"

"What?" he asked, confused. "Nothing."

"Bullshit," Ryuu said, angrily. "Can't we just get Jin down here, Yuka?"

"Out of the question," she said, quickly.

"What? Just because he's your ex-boyfriend-"

"That has nothing to do with it."

"He could deal with this a heck of a lot simpler. What with us having to tip-toe around this whole thing when Jin could just clean it up good and-"

"Haru knows about our curse, Ryuu," Yuka said, finally. Both Ryuu and Maia froze a bit, then glanced at Haru. "I imagine he's known for a while. So does his cousin, Hatori."

"How does HE know?" Ryuu was outraged. Haru could feel himself shrinking into his chair. He didn't want to know what would happen when Ryuu decided to take his outrage on him.

Haru breathed in deeply. What was the easiest way to do this? Sure, he could just tell them what he was. Would they believe him? Or would he have to invite them all out back and hug Maia to prove it? No, he wouldn't imagine Ryuu would let him do that. He wasn't sure what he could do to get them to trust him. All he could hope was that they would believe him.

"I know because I'm like you," he breathed out.

There was a beat of silence where Yuka started staring at the table and Maia and Ryuu seemed stunted in speech. "Like us?" Maia asked.

"And I think it solves the mystery of why you never seem to like me, Maia," Haru said. Maia looked at him blankly. "I'm the Ox."

He didn't really have to explain himself, but it did make a lot of sense to Haru. The genders were ironically switched. Maia was the male ox. The bull. Naturally, these animals were a lot more aggressive and hostile. Haru was, notably, a female ox. The black and white cow. Usually very calm but, when put in danger, utterly chaotic. It made sense as to why Maia was so hostile towards him, and why Haru seemed so calm around her. He didn't really want to know what would happen if Haru turned black around her. Man, that would be a sight.

"They are the chinese zodiac, Maia," Yuka explained.

"My cousins, Yuki and Kyo. They are the same. Our whole family is cursed with the chinese zodiac. Just like you are cursed with the western." Hopefully, they would believe him.

"That explains the hair," Maia said, amused slightly. Haru couldn't help but smile. His white and black hair. Of course, him being an ox would explain that.

"I have a question." Yuka raised her eyes, ready to answer Haru. "Chiyo…she….she is two people? Or, she was. And now she is one person. How does that…? I don't-"

"She is the Gemini," Maia answered, through a monotonic, serious voice. "It's actually kind of dangerous when they're children. Children get lost a lot and…if her and her twin are separated after they transform, well, they can become sick."

Maia, for some reason, began to cough and covered her eyes a little bit. Was she crying?

"They can die," Yuka finished. Haru didn't understand. "Think of it as sort of Yin and Yang. They are the same person. If they become separated for too long of a time period…they can become so infected that it could kill them."

Haru was silent for a bit. It made more sense, when he thought about it. When Haru saw Chiyo, she had wrinkles on her face and was deathly pale. She looked like she was 80 years old, dying. "So, that's why you ran out of the room so fast," Haru said, thinking out loud. Maia only nodded.

"I'm here," someone said.

All of them turned around to see a tall, dark and handsome man. Hatori. He sat himself between Yuka and Haru and looked around the table.

"Did you tell them?" Hatori asked, turning to Haru. Haru nodded. "Good afternoon. My name is Hatori Sohma. I am a….a doctor. For the past couple months, I have been, well, studying your family, to say the least."

"Studying us?" Ryuu said, quite angry.

Hatori put his hand up. "It was under the orders of our God and his understanding was that there was a threat in the area. I was simply checking it out. Small rumours and gossip led him to believe that there might be another supernatural family nearby. However, we had no idea your curse would be so closely related to ours. It seems like cruel fate."

"So, you've just been stalking us?" Ryuu asked. Haru and Yuka rolled the eyes. Maia put a hard grip on Ryuu's wrist and the two shared a small couples-like glare. Maia was silently telling him to behave.

"A cruel fate?" Maia asked. "Is it because of…what happened with me and Haru?"

Hatori nodded. "Yes. Have you hugged anyone since the incident, Maia?" Maia shook her head. "Good. It would be wise if the both of you didn't. Kisa was already infected and, well, there's nothing we can really do about that. I talked to Kisa's mother, Haru, and slightly informed her of the situation. She seems to realize the urgency but, thankfully, didn't ask too many questions."

"So, she can't hug anyone either?" Haru asked.

"No men in the zodiac, that's for sure. I don't know about anyone else, yet."

"I can hug males in the Zodiac." Hatori seemed interested to hear about this. "I shouldn't have but…I needed to know. Kyo and I didn't seem to have any problems. I didn't transform."

This didn't seem to assure Hatori as much as he would have liked.

"Hmm…but, Kyo is a defected member of the Zodiac. Stuff that happens to the rest of us may not happen to him."

Haru didn't think about that. Kyo _was _a different scenario. But, usually stuff that happens to the zodiac is worse with the cat. Wouldn't it be the same in this kind of scenario? Kyo was fine…so, that meant that so was everyone else.

"So, what happens if she hugs someone?" Ryuu demanded.

"Nothing is definite. My hypothesis is that it has formed some sort of plague throughout the infected being. Maia and Haru, both, will not be able to hug those of the opposite sex, family or not. As far as others go, I'm not sure, yet. I can only hope this plague is temporary, however…we are cursed beings. The likelihood of it being temporary is, unfortunately, not very likely."

"So, she's like this for life?" Ryuu said, losing his temper. "All because of him?" He pointed at Haru, who sunk into his chair a bit.

"It's not like I did it on purpose-"

"What if you did?" he snapped.

"Have you informed your leader yet, Yuka?" Hatori asked, interrupting the fight, hoping to calm all of them down. No one in either family intended on this to happen. It was an unfortunate coincidence. They could only hope it was not permanent.

"I have," she said. "He said many things. Kaikou doesn't want any of us conversing with any of….your kind. He also wishes to meet your leader."

"He wants to meet Akito?" Haru asked, his eyed wide. Yuka nodded. "That could end badly."

"Akito has also expressed a desire to meet with the Eto leader. This must be done with caution, though. Neither of them sound like they intend to meet for friendly purposes."

There was silence throughout the table. It seemed that they were all thinking of what could happen at this meeting. Probably all going over the personalities of their separate deity's and forming out scenarios in their head. All probably ending badly.

"You don't think they'll hurt each other, do you?" Maia asked, actually sounding somewhat worried.

"Who cares?" Ryuu asked, actually somewhat entertained by the thought.

"They very well may try to," Hatori reasoned. "Is your leader sick, as well?"

Yuka nodded. "He is very ill nearly 24/7."

"I will stay with Kaikou during the fight," Maia offered.

Hatori nodded. "It will be nice to see one friendly face. I will be accompanying Akito to the estate."

"I'll come, too," Haru suggested.

"No," Hatori said immediately. "The last thing I need Akito to know right now is that you've not only been spying on the family but been in contact with them as well. Akito isn't stupid, and he'll sense the relationship between you two."

"But I can-"

"You will stay at home and keep out of trouble," Hatori ordered. Haru only grunted, but complied. "By tonight, our whole family will probably be aware of your existence and predicament. For your family's protection, it would be wise if the entirety of the zodiac of your family be aware, as well."

"Wait, did Akito call a meeting?" Haru asked. He was ignored.

"Not everyone is accountable for in our zodiac," Yuka admitted.

"Well, notify as many of them as you can. Children, I wouldn't worry about as much. However, children do have a tendency to be more physically attached to their family members so at least have it put to their understanding to keep away from such notions with an infected family member."

"Maia is _not_ infected," Ryuu cut in, getting aggravated. He, too, was ignored.

"So, you're suggesting I keep away from _everyone?_" Maia asked.

Hatori sighed. It was sort of hard to put into words. "I cannot guarantee anything. Just be careful."

* * *

The Sohma estate was extremely crowded and chaotic as zodiac members came in from all over. The only one absent seemed to be Rin, unfortunately. She probably chose not to come. However, even Yuki and Kyo showed up. Shigure must have dragged them there. He knew how important this meeting was; after all, he was the one who accompanied Hatori on his missions at the beginning. He knew what this was about.

Everyone else, however, did not, and for once, the zodiac getting together was actually a very silent event. Normally, it would be filled of Yuki and Ayame disagreeing on something. Yuki and Kyo yelling about something. Kagura attacking Kyo. Kyo yelling at Momiji.

Everyone was silent.

They all sat in a large living room outside of Akito's room. Hiro and Kisa sat side by side on the ground with Momiji not too far off, laying on his stomach on the ground near them. Ritsu sat by himself in a corner of the room. Shigure and Ayame sat next to each other on the couch. Yuki, Kyo, Haru and Kagura stood near the door against the wall. Hatori and Kureno were inside Akito's room and everyone was waiting for the three of them to come out.

Suddenly, the door opened and Akito came out, followed by Kureno and Hatori who stood behind him, quietly.

"Ah, I'm glad you all could make it on such short notice. Well, those of you that _did_ come," Akito announced, giving a small glare to Haru on the way in.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Haru asked, getting slightly defensive of Rin.

"Haru," Yuki whispered into his ear, warning him to let it go. Haru gritted his teeth together but let it pass. Akito only glanced at Haru and grinned, his teeth showing.

"Welcome zodiac," Akito said, with his arms wide, the sleeves of his kimono almost reaching the floor. "Yes, even you, Kyo," he said with distaste. Kyo almost retorted something back but Haru nudged him in the gut. Now was not the time. "It has come to my attention that there is a problem nearby. Some of you already know about this." Akito waited for someone to interrupt him. No one did. This was wise. He continued.

"There is a family not far from here that threatens the existence of ours. They are, shall we say, _like_ us."

"What do you mean like us?" Yuki asked, being one of the only brave ones to speak.

Akito smiled. "Surely it is not that surprising that we are not the only family who is cursed." There was a small commotion and a bit of gasping once they heard this. A family like them? Cursed?

"That's impossible," Hiro said, rolling his eyes a bit.

"Are they trying to kill us? Are we in danger?" Ayame asked excitingly. "Oh, I could make the best little battle gowns for all of us. Oh, Yuki, you would look splendid in one of those samurai outfits and we could all go over to this family's estate. It would be just like a movie and-"

"Ayame," Hatori warned, glaring over at him. Ayame shut up. Hatori was really the only one that could really do that.

Akito was only smirking. He was waiting for the commotion to stop. Truthfully, the personalities of his family members always amused him, as much as he wanted to hit them for it countless times. "Hatori, you finish it for me. I can only bear so much idiocy."

Hatori only nodded. "Their surname is Eto. They're cursed with the western zodiac, such as the Taurus, Scorpio, etc."

Yuki and Kyo's faces seemed to rise as they heard the word 'Eto'. They knew that name from school. Maia and Ryuu. They were about to speak when Hatori shook his head, silencing them. For a good reason. Akito would strike them had they said anything.

Instead, Yuki said, "What do they have to do with us?"

Hatori glanced at Hatsuharu and they both nodded. Haru went towards Kisa. "Kisa, stand up," he said.

"But I-" she started, but Haru began to try and lift her up. Hiro tried to push him away.

"Don't touch her, cow," he yelled.

"Hiro, not now," Haru snapped. He pushed Hiro onto the ground and lightly lifted Kisa up by her arms. He led her into the front, slightly away from Akito in case Akito got any funny ideas about hitting her for whatever reason. It would not be out of character for him.

He led her off into the viewing of the entire group, much to Hiro's displeasure. Slowly, he wrapped his body around Kisa's into a large hug and there were two loud poofs. Haru and Kisa both stood next to each other, now a cow and a tiger. Everyone in the room either gasped or stared at the scene in shock.

"Well, hold on a second," Momiji said, confused. He was the first to speak. "How did that happen? We're not supposed to transform within the zodiac. We're supposed to be able to hug each other."

"Evidently, contact with that family sets forth a chain reaction that turns into a plague. Kisa and Haru are, currently, infected with it. Physical contact with a zodiac member of the Eto family causes both of the people involved to lose their ability to hug anyone else in their zodiac," explained Hatori.

No one said a word. Instead, people just had little silent conversations with each other while Hatori, Akito and Kureno stood in the center of the group, silent again. There really wasn't much to say. It seemed easy to figure out what needed to be done. Stay away from the Eto family at all costs. Before something terrible happens.

"I don't want anyone going near anyone in that family," Akito said towards the end of the meeting. Many people avoided his eye contact. "It has come to my attention that many of you go to school with these people. Stay away from them. I don't want them infecting any more of my zodiac. Who knows what else this plague does. I am meeting with their leader next week to put an end to any more confrontation. Keep a sharp eye. If any of you disobey my orders…well, I hope you don't value your wellbeing if that be the case. Good night."

With that, Akito retired into his room with Kureno, of course, to follow. No one was surprised that Kureno did not say one word. He was always the stick up Akito's ass. The puppet held up by strings. No one really respected Kureno all too much.

The zodiac, eventually, all went home. And they all were left to think about what they were going to do about this particular family.

* * *

_Hope you guys liked! Review? Maybe? (: Wanted to give a shout out to people who have reviewed this year (because this story has been going on forever because I've been as lazy as a bogtrottle)_

_Special thanks to Echo Mindiguren, BlackWolfe, The Almighty Pyro, KagomeUchiha101, and ferret assassin nin. _

_Again, sorry to you all for the delay! I've always said I'll never give up on this story, though XD I've planned out to much. Hope you stick with me and if not, I wish you the best! Thank you for your reviews! They mean a lot to me and keep me going._


	10. The Battle of the Gods

**Cursed Constellations**

Hi guys!I've got to say, this next chapter is actually turning into one of my favorites. Have fun.

**READ THIS:**

So, I think I mentioned this earlier but never really followed through with it. On photobucket, I created an album with **pictures of the characters you've met so far**. At least, the way I see them. If you type in **photobucket**.com and then /cursedconstellations. Just like that with no spaces, capitalizations or periods, you should find my album with the characters pictures and names. If you have trouble with that way, then try typing in my username, Rolkdan, and look under the album Cursed Constellations. I just thought you guys might like to see (: Hope you like them!

Now for an update of the characters you've met so far:

Maia - Taurus - Fifteen. Same age as Haru and also Momiji.  
Ryuu - Scorpio - Seventeen. One year older than Yuki, Kyo and Tohru.  
Kaikou - God - Twenty-Three.  
Yuka - Unknown - Librarian at the school - Twenty-Six.  
Chiyo - Gemini - Seven.  
Jin - Unknown - Family doctor - Twenty-Eight.

Hope this helps at least a little bit, if you were confused on something. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**Animic Over + Out**

* * *

**X  
**The Battle of the Gods

* * *

Haru had chosen to walk to school alone, today, for he was temporarily sick of his entire family. After Yuki and Kyo found out who the Eto's really were, they were full of questions, as was Momiji. Haru just couldn't take any more questions about the Eto family. What animal Maia and Ryuu are. If they have an outcast. Do they have a God? What are they like? How many has he met? Does Haru like Maia—that was the worst one.

It was a rare thing when Haru could be by himself. Of course, that never lasts too long, does it? For, the moment he got to school and went to his classroom, someone was waiting for him.

"She is no longer your concern." Ryuu. He was standing against the lockers next to Haru's classroom with his arms crossed, his eyes glaring at him through his red and black striped hair. "Maia," he confirmed.

"Yes, I knew who you were talking about," Haru said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Ryuu fidgeted his position against the locker, still glaring at him.

"You will stay away from her," Ryuu warned.

"And if I refuse? I'm not scared of you," Haru scowled, his temper rising just a little bit. Maia had just begun to warm up to him slightly, and if they had any chance of breaking this curse, or at least feeling like they weren't alone, they would all do better to stay close to the Eto family. To hell with what Akito said.

"Do you seriously believe that your God and Kaikou are so different?" he spat. "How kindly do you think he will take to know that Maia has been spending the majority of her time with not only a boy, but a man of his rival zodiac? Do you think her crime will go without punishment? Who's to say he won't turn to you—"

"—then I will face the consequences," Haru said, getting angrier still.

Ryuu only laughed. "You don't wanna go down this road with me, _cow_."

"Don't I?"

"I haven't pummelled you into the ground, yet, for Maia's sake. But now that Kaikou has forbidden it, expect no mercy. I don't like the guy. In fact, I hate him, but I'll take any chance I can get to put you in your place. You stay away from my Maia!"

"Sounds as if you like her," Haru suggested, grinning darkly.

Ryuu smirked. "Maybe you're right." Ryuu nodded and crossed his arms, walking closer to Haru, and laughed. "Maybe I do. But, then, you do, too, right? Isn't that why you want to spend so much time together? Why else would you? Tell you what. How 'bout we make a deal? I won't say anything to Kaikou if you introduce me to some of your lady zodiac friends. Think they'd be interested in me bringin' my scorpion out?"

Haru was not laughing. He was staring at Ryuu, daring him to say _anything_. Oh, but Ryuu dared. He did a little more than that.

"That girl you and your pals are always with. Tohru, is it? She's a real babe, isn't she? Maybe I'll take her…and we'll do a little bit of this and a little bit o' that. Who was the Kisa girl that Hatori mentioned the other day? Maybe she'd be down for a little play."

That crossed the line. Black Haru.

Hatsuharu had snapped. He grabbed the shoulders of Ryuu and slammed him into the lockers, hard, making an echoing sound. Teenagers around them stopped to watch as a fight was sure to break out. With Ryuu, it always did, and Hatsuharu was also making a reputation like that for himself.

"Found your weak spot, then, did I?" Ryuu laughed.

"You keep talking and I'll rip that pretty mouth of yours right off!" Haru yelled.

"Oh, have I struck a nerve?" he shoved Haru's hands of his shoulders. "Don't ever touch me again, you filthy cow."

"Don't hold your breath!"

And just like that, Haru and Ryuu began to do more than just argue. Haru held out his fist and went in to punch him but, as he did, Ryuu took his shoulders and slammed his head into the lockers behind him. As Haru fell onto the ground, Ryuu bent down to grab him by his jacket, but Haru swept his feet across Ryuu's, knocking him onto the ground. He stood up and put his hands against the lockers, trapping Ryuu next to them with his left foot and kicking him with his right again, and again, and again.

Suddenly, he felt two sets of hands grab him by his shoulders and pulled him back. Yuki and Kyo.

Haru's face was bleeding from the locker but that didn't stunt him in the slightest. Not Black Haru. "Just try and stop me, claw-freak! Just for that, I'm gonna take her whenever I want, and guess what, lover boy, when I'm done with her, she won't even remember your name. I'll knock her so hard her memory of you will fall outta her head!"

"Haru, shut up!" Kyo yelled.

Ryuu stood up from against the lockers and straightened his jacket. He walked closer towards Haru, who was still being held by Yuki and Kyo. "You're dead, boy."

As Ryuu walked away, Haru still wasn't done. "Yeah, I'll see you in hell, won't I?" But Ryuu never turned around.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Kaikou-dono?" Maia asked as Kaikou sat on his bed, awaiting the arrival of his rival God.

Like Akito, Kaikou had always been rather ill. Remedies did not always work for him and he was nearly accompanied by Jin nearly every second of the day. Jin was their family doctor, normally seen around Kaikou, who required his full attention. And he was also currently here, keeping his mouth shut. He knew when it was not the time to stand up to Kaikou.

Just like Jin, Kaikou knew, as well as most people, that Maia would do anything to protect Kaikou, and would never refuse him. He could count on the both of them.

"What I do and not do is not your concern, Maia," Kaikou snapped at her, in response to her question.

Maia only bit her lip and bowed her head towards him, respectfully. "Noted."

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door, and Maia withdrew a breath. This was it. Kaikou gave her a firm glance and she quickly walked over to the door. Opening it, slowly, she saw Hatori and what she assumed to be their God, Akito, escorted by Ryuu, who looked very angry about something.

Hatori gave Maia a strange look and slightly tilted his head forward, looking at Maia. Akito was giving Maia a harsh glance and, with panicked eyes, Maia lowered her head and bowed slightly to Akito, the God whom she did not serve. Akito seemed pleased.

"Akito-sama, this is my master…Kaikou-dono." Akito and Hatori further entered the room, closing the door, and they made their way towards Kaikou, who was standing with his arms folded, taking up what was happening.

Hatori bowed to Kaikou, as Jin did to Akito, but Kaikou and Akito simply stared at each other, refusing to show any respect. It grew awkward.

"Usually, people bow when they enter my chambers," Kaikou said, harshly.

Akito only grinned. "As they do for me."

Neither God budged an inch.

"This is Jin, our family doctor, Hatori," Maia said, trying to break the awkward silence. At this, Hatori seemed slightly interested. Jin did not say a word but stood there with his arms at his sides, analysing the situation.

"Where did you study?" Hatori asked.

"This is not doctor break room talk, Hatori," Akito snapped. Hatori slightly bowed his head, silencing himself.

"Stay away from my family," Kaikou suddenly commanded. Akito only laughed.

"I don't follow orders. I give them. Believe me; I have no intention of conversing with _your_ kind. Disgusting monsters. If you wish to avoid us so much, perhaps you should relocate. Defeat the chance of it even happening."

At this, Maia came in. "The Eto family has lived at this estate for generations," she fought. "My father, his father, and the father before him. The family that leaves should be yours." Kaikou raised his hand, slowly, to silence her, smiling.

"Looks like the only person this situation is making paranoid…is you." Kaikou's mouth slowly turned into an evil grin as he analysed Akito further. "Are you afraid of me? You may scare your zodiac animals, but you have no such effect on me. You'll have to try other methods of persuasion."

"Kaikou-" Jin began to warn.

Kaikou began to laugh, but that laugh turned into a cough and he ended up slightly collapsing onto Maia, who latched onto him immediately making sure he was alright. Jin seemed slightly concerned and came to Kaikou's side, in case he needed him. It was clear that whatever had suddenly hit Kaikou, it was taking a small effect on him on Maia's face was quickly turning to worry.

"This was not a good idea," Jin said to all of them. "We should all call it a day and make arrangements for another time when we are all fit for—"

But Akito began to laugh. Clearly, seeing Kaikou so weak was amusing. "How are you fit to lead a family? You are weaker than I am. I don't even know why I was so worried in the first place. "

Jin's face dropped. "This is not a laughing matter. These circumstances could plunge both of our families into the deepest pit of misfortune. You believe we are cursed now…" he glanced down at Kaikou. "Just you wait and see."

But, at this theory, Hatori, suddenly, became interested. Finally someone who shared his knowledge and few of the whole situation that both families were currently wrapped up in.

"You think there is more than just the plague?" Hatori asked.

"Can't you feel it?" Kaikou suddenly spit out, his head hanging low as Maia helped him up. He was speaking directly to Akito, and his gaze was serious and fearful to the point where it almost looked as if Akito was afraid. "If you don't feel it now…you will. And it will hurt. A storm is coming. These curses were never meant to meet. Soon, we'll figure out why."

"Silence!" Akito yelled, clearly unable to take any more of this superstitious nonsense.

All five of them were quiet as Akito glared into the eyes of Kaikou's, clearly not trusting him.

"Hatori, you will erase the memory of these men." Hatori and Maia's eye's raised in shock. "And this girl." Hatori was stunted in speech. "And when we get back—Haru. We'll explain to everyone that you were misinformed, and there was nothing to be concerned with."

"I'm afraid I can't—" Hatori started.

"You dare disobey me?" Akito snapped.

Maia put herself in front of Kaikou, protecting him. "You will not touch him!" she screamed.

"I can and I will," Akito yelled.

Kaikou grasped his hand around Maia's wrist, tightly, and pushed her aside, gently. "It's too late. People are already informed and affected. Having us all forget would only strengthen the severity of the situation, and you will have doomed all the lives of those you love. That is unless you don't give a shit."

"Do not accuse me of—"

"You are a careless and stupid God. In time, your people will realize just how much."

"Erase them, Hatori!" Akito yelled.

"How 'bout I erase yours?" Without anyone to stop him, Kaikou clenched his fist and went towards Akito about to punch him. But, he collapsed to the ground leaving Maia to scream. Akito laughed and was about to strike him when Maia interfered.

"Don't even think about it." Maia grabbed Akito's fist with her hand and kicked him hard in the gut, knocking him onto the ground. Akito was about to go after her when Hatori grabbed hold of him. Things were beginning to get out of hand. All of them could see that.

As Hatori raised Akito to standing on his feet, Maia went to the side of Kaikou who was lying on the ground, hurt. Jin walked towards the door to open it, silently glancing at the two men who had just tried to attack Kaikou.

"It would be best if you never returned here. If something happened to Kaikou, there are those in our Zodiac that would take it as a personal threat." Hatori only nodded. "Take your God and leave," Jin commanded. With a small glance at Maia, Hatori put Akito's arm around his shoulder and quickly left the room, escorted out by Ryuu who had been waiting and listening to the fight practically the entire time, but under strict orders by Jin to not enter the room. Fights tend to get worse when Ryuu is involved. It's bad enough that Maia was present. But Jin wouldn't go against Kaikou's orders to have her present.

Jin picked up Kaikou from the ground and placed him on the bed, feeling his forehead. Maia was at the side of the bed, chewing on her fingernails slightly. As badly as Kaikou treated her sometimes, Maia loved him. It was a love that she could not describe. It had no words. Only a bond somewhere in her heart.

"Will he be alright?" Maia asked, desperately.

"He has a rising fever. Nothing I haven't seen before," he assured her. "Kaikou-sama will be fine."

Maia didn't seem convinced. She stayed with him at his bedside while Jin went into his quarters to fetch some medication that is often given to Kaikou to ease his fever, as well as fetching a few other supplies. She brushed some hair away from his forehead and held the side of his head, worrying over him as a mother would a sick child.

It was almost unnatural, and there were many in the zodiac who openly thought so. Mainly Ryuu.

"Why do you care for him if he treats you like dirt," Ryuu said. It startled Maia. She didn't know that he had entered the room. He must have slipped in after Jin left.

"You wouldn't understand," she set, dampening a cloth near his bedside table with the cup of water that was there and lightly pressing it onto his forehead.

"Try me."

At this, Jin entered. He seemed to know what he was intruding on, but remained emotionless, as he usually did, and tended to Kaikou. "Whatever you two are about to do, please take it outside. Don't want to wake Kai-sama." At Maia's look of worry, Jin pressed further. "I will tend to him, Maia. He will be fine. Go get some rest."

Reluctantly, Maia allowed Ryuu to slightly pull her away from Kaikou's room and the two went outside, Maia walking slower than usual, her head on the ground. Ryuu couldn't help but roll his eyes. Her behaviour toward him was unnatural and disgusting. He hated Kaikou for the way he made Maia feel.

"He locked you in the serpent's lair for over a month, Maia," Ryuu commented, calm, but angry. His gaze was towards the moon and Maia's was still on the ground. "He doesn't care for you."

"He's the closest thing to a father I have, Ryuu."

"A father who doesn't respect you?" His temper was raising.

"He saved my life!"

Ryuu's fists clenched. "He did not. Save your life, Maia. I did!"

"Kai-dono protected me. He's the only one in this entire family that doesn't believe murdered my parents!"

"He's not the only one! I don't believe that, Maia. Can't you see—?"

"And even after the shelter he gave me, I ran away, like an idiot child, and he still took me back in. After all that I had done."

Ryuu closed his eyes, feeling his temper raising. "I helped you escape…and you should have stayed. You did what you thought was right. And you _were_ right."

"You're wrong…I was wrong. I listened to _you! _Your…_hatred_ for him. Your _ignorance!_ Whether you wish to believe it or not, Kaikou-dono cares for us more than you know."

Ryuu's fists clenched even further. He did not like arguing with Maia, but more often than not, he became extremely frustrated with her. When Maia was younger, and Chiyo was a baby, her parents died in a fire. A fire that the majority of the Eto family believed she caused. Kaikou took her in. He treated her like shit. Sheltered her like a caged lion. She was miserable, and Ryuu wasn't going to let that happen. He helped her escape from the Eto estate without anyone knowing. He took her to one of the zodiac members who did not live in the estate, nor cared for Kaikou and had a reason to hate him.

And even then…she came back. After everything Ryuu had done to protect her. His only wish for Maia was that she be free. Here in the Eto estate…she could never be free. Not ever. Not as long as that bastard is alive.

God, how Ryuu longs for the day that his sickness overpowers him and finally kills him. That day will be cause for celebration.

"What he cares about…Maia…is control. This is why you're his puppet. How can you not see it? How are you so blind to the fact that he did everything to have control over you! And it worked! You think he loves you? Look at you, Maia! He can make you do anything. You're terrified of how much you love him, and yet you hate him? You're his puppet, Maia. He just picks up your string and dangles it to however much he likes and you just—"

"Please, stop," she said, in a low voice. It took a while for Ryuu to look down at her. Her voice was different. She was begging him.

She was crying.

* * *

_Hope you guys like Jin! He'll be mentioned in the next chapter and then brought back again in probably chapter 14. Also, in the next chapter, one I've been looking forward to writing since I brainstormed it, you will meet one of my favorite characters. Well...they're all really my favorite characters. They're my babies :3 But this one is really cool, I promise._

_Shout out to Greeks vs. Geeks (love your username, by the way), Pluv143000 and hidansgirl1234 for reviewing! Thank you so much! Hope you continue to read and enjoy! I appreciate all your input and questions. _

_Special thanks to The Almighty Pyro, BlackWolfe, ferret assassin nin and KagomeUchiha101 for reviewing multiple chapters. Love you guys! (Sorry if I missed anyone)_

_Also. BlackWolfe is writing her first Furuba fanfic and it has the same plot, but with the Native American Zodiac. It's called Transforming into a new life, if you want to check it out. Sorry I haven't had much time to read it, yet, Wolfe. Been working on this chapter and planning the next ones. But I will get to it, I promise! Perhaps her updates will be more frequent than mine. Ahaha XD Whoops. _

_Have a great day, you guys! By the way, Animic has a question. If you haven't told me already, what is your zodiac sign? I'm a Scorpio. _


	11. Sticks and Stones

**Cursed Constellations**

Look at me! I'm on a roll! W00t! Don't forget.

www . photobucket . com (slash) cursedconstellations

Delete the spaces and there you can see all my characters that I pictured them as. I did NOT draw those pictures, just to clarify. You can now meet the newest character there, as well. You meet him in this chapter, so don't look until you read!

I've been looking forward to writing this chapter. Mostly because I love this character. Anyway, enough of my blabber. You'll get more at the end. Enjoy!

* * *

**XI  
**Sticks and Stones

* * *

Yuka looked at herself in the mirror. Turning left to right, she looked at her dress from different angles and sighed, going back into the closet to pick out yet another outfit. This next one was a maroon color. It was a simple shoulder strapped dress that went down to her knees and wasn't particularly revealing in anyway but still flattered her figure.

Seeming satisfied with this decision, she went into her bathroom and began putting on small doses of make-up. Blush, eye shadow and a very light shade of lipstick that only emphasized her natural lip color, hopefully making it not stand out.

When she was finished with that, she put on her golden crucifix and golden charm bracelet given to her by her father upon graduation. Everything was complete. She looked at herself into the mirror and a small, embarrassed chuckle escaped her lips and her hands went up to cover her face.

"What is wrong with you, Yuka? Pull yourself together!" She thrust her arms at her side and groaned at herself, sitting on the edge of her bed, thinking.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

When Yuka answered the door, Hatori was standing in his doctor's coat, holding a briefcase with both hands in front of him.

"Hello, Hatori-san," she smiled. "Come in."

Hatori nodded and stepped foot into the house, like he'd done many times.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet me," Yuka said. "Make yourself at home. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

Hatori went to sit in the living room as Yuka went into the kitchen, her heart beating every step of the way as she desperately tried to tame it. When the tea was finally finished, she walked into the living room with the tray of tea and placed it on the coffee table, where it remained untouched throughout the entire conversation.

"You said your hand was injured?" Hatori asked.

Yuka suddenly remembered and took her right hand in her left, carefully, fingering the pressure points that were paining her. "Yes…Kaikou, he…well."

Hatori smiled, pityingly, and nodded. "You needn't explain. Let me take a look."

Slowly, she let out her hand for Hatori to look. He pinched at her wrist and Yuka gasped through her teeth in pain. He began to feel around her arm, parts of it paining Yuka, as he examined it.

"Can you move your fingers?" She slowly began to move her fingers without pain and Hatori made a 'hmm' noise. "So, it's just your wrist, then?" He was silent for a long time.

"Is it broken?"

"How long ago did you receive the injury?"

"Two days ago."

Hatori nodded. "It shouldn't be broken. Only sprained." He opened his briefcase. "If it were broken, you'd be really feeling it and the injury would be swelling more. Regardless, you should keep it immobilized. Sprains are still somewhat serious."

He reached into his briefcase and took out some gauze-like material that he began to wrap around Yuka's wrist and palm, pinning it with a safety pin at the end. He squeezed her hand at the end when he was finished and let out a smile.

"I hope you feel better." Yuka only nodded, taking her arm back, fingering the wrap with her other hand. "Why did Kaikou harm you?" he finally asked.

Yuka looked into Hatori's eyes and bit her lip. Yuka had never been much for pain, and truth be told, Kaikou scared her very much so. When he took her by the wrist, and twisted her arm until she was crying and on the ground, begging for him to release her, she was terrified. No man had ever terrified her.

"Kaikou ordered all of the zodiac to stay away from the Sohma…but…I told him that you were no harm to us. That your family could help us. He wouldn't listen…" Yuka bit her lip even further, unable to talk of the rest. Hatori's eyes dropped onto her arm and sighed.

"Akito is the same. That meeting did more hurt than help. Seems like they are both out to get each other's families now." Yuka said nothing but soaked in the words he said. Yes…there would definitely be their own form of war within these two families. Yuka just hoped that there were enough in her family to see sense. The Sohma were no harm to them. Why couldn't Kaikou see that? "Why didn't you approach Jin-san? He is your family physician, is he not?"

"He is."

"Is he not intelligent?" Hatori questioned.

Yuka shook her head. "Oh no, he's very knowledgeable. We all trust him very much."

"Clearly, you don't."

Yuka only smiled, causing Hatori to smile, as well. He knew something was up. "Jin-san and I have…had relations in the past. It didn't end well."

"I know what that's like," Hatori muttered, leaning further back in his chair. "What happened?"

"Jin's loyalty has always been and will always be to Kaikou-sama. It will never be to anyone else. It is a shame; he is a very charming and calm man. We got along quite well, but…"

"But?"

"He randomly decided to break up with me one day, deciding he could no longer live a lie and that his allegiance to Kaikou came before me. Months later, when Kaikou found out about what had happened, he forbid us to so much as look at each other." Yuka shrugged her shoulders. "That was a long time ago. But I never wish to see him."

Hatori only nodded after the whole conversation. He understand what it was to be forbidden to see someone you cared about, but Yuka didn't seem to care for him anymore. Perhaps he lost her trust.

"Well, Yuka," Hatori finally said after a long pause. "I should probably be heading back or Akito will wonder where I've gone."

He started to head to the door when Yuka called out to him.

"Oh, wait, please," she said, grabbing her purse that was lying near the coffee table and grabbing her check book. "For your troubles."

"No, I couldn't accept that, Yuka."

"But surely I owe you something," she insisted. "How much? Would 2,010 yen be fair?"

Hatori only smiled. "Your money is no good to me, Yuka. I only wish for you to be better, alright?"

Yuka stood, speechless, as Hatori let himself out and closed the door, leaving Yuka to stand there with the purse in her hands like an idiot.

* * *

The next morning, Maia dragged herself out of bed. She had stayed up nearly all night long taking care of Chiyo and her nightmare's. Ever since the fire, Chiyo scarcely dreams of anything else, and it takes its toll. Often times when she dreams of the fire, she does not wish to go back to sleep, and Maia and Chiyo stay up watching a show or a movie. Or Maia reads to her.

There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for her little sister.

So, the next morning, when she was walking to school alongside Ryuu, she said nothing. Granted, this was also because the two were still in an argument. Maia was still angry with Ryuu for his words the day the Gods met. They weren't necessarily on speaking terms.

All throughout class, Maia sat with her eyes half-opened, not even listening to the teacher. How could she? She'd gotten at the most 2 hours of sleep last night. It was impossible for her to pay attention and was equally almost as impossible to keep her head from falling onto the desk.

When lunch finally came around, Maia was relieved. It meant she was more than halfway done with the day and could go home and rest, before she would have to tend to Chiyo. Because more often than not, when Chiyo had nightmares, they recurred for more than a couple days.

As she went to take her seat at her table with Ryuu, someone tugged at her shirt. It was Haru.

"Oh, Haru-san. Hello," she said, monotony. Haru seemed surprised, as he probably was. Usually, Maia was in a foul mood.

"Would you like to sit with me?" he offered.

Normally, she would decline such an offer, but things have been rather tense and awkward around Ryuu. She didn't find being around him as pleasant as she had before he had spoken those words to her, and perhaps it would take some time.

Maia said not a word as she placed her tray down on the table and took her seat beside Haru. No one else was at the table yet, them still going to retrieve their lunch.

Haru stared at her for a long time as she slurped at her soup, almost falling into it.

"How is Kaikou-san? Hari-san said he got hurt."

"He became ill with a fever. Nothing more."

That seemed to be the end of the conversation on her side. She didn't wish to talk about it, clearly.

"He will be better, Maia. You'll see," Haru assured her, as, before, she seemed to worry about him.

"I don't doubt that." She yawned.

"Hey, are you alright? You've kind of been out of it all—"

Suddenly, they both heard a loud crash in the cafeteria. Turning around towards the crash, they both saw Ryuu standing over a boy, his hand clenched into a fist, but his eyes staring at Maia and Haru. The tray that had the boy's food was all over the ground and the entire cafeteria was silent as Ryuu glared down the two of them. But it wasn't silent for long.

"Why don't you watch where you're going!" Ryuu yelled.

The boy stood up. "You're the one that knocked me down, clumsy idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot!" Ryuu yelled. And, of course, not long after that, the two began to fight.

Maia let out a sigh. She stood up from her table and looked down at Haru. "Sorry, I should go over to him."

"Of course," Haru told her. As she began to walk away, Haru spoke up. "Hey, wait. Uhm. Would it be alright with you if I maybe walked you home today?"

Maia seemed stunted in her speech and Haru could have sworn that he saw her smile. At least a little bit. "I'd like that."

Haru nodded and Maia turned around to go over to Ryuu, who was currently talking to a teacher. Maia sighed. It seems that Ryuu had detention today. Of course. What would you expect from someone who randomly picked a fight in the cafeteria? Ryuu claimed that the boy stole some of his food. Of course, Maia knew better than that.

Ryuu was staring over at Maia sitting with Haru after the crash. He has been on edge lately, and perhaps this is one of the reasons. Maia didn't have many friends. There weren't many in the zodiac that understood her, besides Chiyo, of course. Ryuu had always been her best friend and had had Maia to himself. He wasn't used to sharing. Granted, he wasn't much used to Maia talking to anyone else, much less spending time with them.

But, right now, Maia could care less. In fact, she almost wanted to make him angry. If Ryuu thought Maia was Kaikou's puppet, he was wrong. She would disobey his order to be with the Sohma's. Then, maybe, Ryuu wouldn't think of her as a puppet. She would be right.

The end of the day finally came around. When the bell rang, Haru smiled over at Maia, who was in the same class, and they met together at the end of class. Maia looked at the students walking out of class to the windows of the classroom, showing that it was pouring down rain.

The rain must have picked up towards the end of the day. But, with Ryuu in detention, at least she had someone to be with to walk her home. It was rather nice of Haru to offer. He probably guessed that Ryuu would be spending the day after school in detention and Maia would walk home alone.

"I'm afraid I didn't bring an umbrella," Haru said, hanging his head low.

Maia shrugged. "Then, we'll get wet."

Haru squinted his eyes and looked at her with a cheeky grin on his face. "Are you alright?"

Maia pursed her lips together, looking at Haru. "I'm fine."

"You don't seem yourself, lately."

"How so?" she asked.

"Well…for one thing, you're not snapping back at every comment I make."

Maia made a small exhale through her nose and smiled softly. "I'm tired."

Haru nodded, putting his backpack behind him and making his way towards the door. "Then, I suggest we leave. You're way too heavy for me to carry if you pass out."

"Oh, ha, ha."

They walked through the school to the main entrance doors in silence, Haru ever so often looking in Maia's direction. It was a very blank stare. Almost emotionless. She seemed phased by something; that was for sure. When they got outside, the rain was starting to let out, but it was still drizzling.

As they began to walk towards the woods where the Eto estate was located, Haru turned towards her. "So, how come you're tired?"

Maia paused for a long time, biting her lip. "It's complicated."

"We have a long walk."

She nodded and continued, without looking at him. "It's not a huge deal but…Chiyo has nightmares. Often."

"Nightmares? Of what?"

"The night our parents died." Haru said nothing. "Chiyo was very young, then, but she clearly still remembers. There was a house fire…and our parents perished in it. Chiyo barely made it out with her life. When I found her, the fire had nearly reached her bedroom."

"You rescued her?" Haru asked.

"She was the only thing that brought me joy. I needed her to live. But, she has recurring nightmares of the fire. They terrify her to the point where she can't sleep and…I have to comfort her."

"You stayed up all night with her?" Maia said nothing but nodded. "What a sister," he said, smiling. "What about you?"

"What about me?" she asked, repeating his question.

"Do you ever have dreams of the fire?"

Maia was stunted in speech, and she bit her lip, unsure of what to say. "No…that day haunts me in a different way." Before Haru could even ask, she told him. "Everyone in my family thinks I started that fire…to kill my parents."

For a long time, Haru wasn't sure what to say. What do you say to something like that…except, "I'm sorry."

Maia shook her head. "It's fine," she assured.

But Haru knew it wasn't fine. Haru knew what it was like to feel like your entire family was constantly talking behind your back. That they were judging you. Hating you. It was a terrible feeling.

Without thinking, Haru slipped his right hand into her left and held it gently. To his surprise, she tightened the grip. As he looked over at her, she could see small traces of tears in her eyes. So, she did feel, after all? Maia was truly a mystery to him. Perhaps that's what intrigued him so much. She was more like the Taurus than she seems.

"Is that why you're so tough with people? These family…they had to have been close to you, and to believe such a lie…you must have lost your trust in everyone…"

Maia was speechless.

"Not everyone is so heartless, Maia…"

Maia closed her eyes, taking in his kind words, and almost crying, again, but she tried her hardest to retain her tears. She did have an image to maintain. "Not everyone…Ryuu and Kaikou don't believe such lies. And Chiyo. Everyone else…they say they care for me, but I can see it in their eyes. They don't know for sure. They think…well, maybe I did kill them. I'm so resentful and was jealous of my baby-sister for the attention she was receiving. They think in their head that I did…But I would never…I couldn't…"

All of a sudden, in the middle of her thought, she dropped the hand of the Haru and rushed to the side of the road. At first, Haru was confused. There was no one there. What was she doing? But as he walked closer towards her, he saw a pile of clothes sitting on the curb, drenched from the still-going rain.

Next to the pile of clothes…was a fish.

"Rock!" she yelled out, kneeling next to the fish. Could it be…was this the…?

"Rock?"

"Oh my god," Maia muttered, picking up the fish and his clothes. "Haru, could you take me to Hatori-san? Please?"

"Wha—? Hatori? What about Jin-san?"

"Please, Haru," she begged.

Haru only nodded and the both of them ran to the Sohma estate, where Haru had to sneak Maia and the fish in without being seen by almost anyone. It was under orders that no one was to associate with the Eto's. But this seemed to be an emergency, and, as Maia seemed in a delicate state at the present moment, Haru would not refuse her.

So, when they began to pound on Hatori's door like lunatics, Hatori was quite startled to see them.

"Maia-chan?" Hatori said, surprised.

"Please, Hatori-san. There's no one else to go to. He is my….cousin." A zodiac member, Haru and Hatori could both assume that. "He's anaemic."

At this, Hatori motioned for Maia to bring him over to his bed where Maia laid the fish down. He placed the sheet over everything but his head unless he transformed, which he would, of course.

"What medication does he normally take?" Hatori questioned.

"I…I don't know. He takes vitamin B12, not medication. But it's not in his pockets. I don't understand…he never leaves the house without it."

"I don't have B12…" Hatori said, thinking out loud. "C would only absorb the iron. Ah…I'll be right back." With that, he disappeared. Maia was kneeling next to Rock's bed, fingering the sheets. The fish was asleep. In fact, it was weird. Haru had never seen a fish with its eyes closed before. Spooky.

Haru walked over towards her, looking at the fish. "His name is Rock?" he asked.

"Iwato…" she said. "He likes to go by Rock. The Pisces, clearly." Haru only nodded.

"Why can't you take him to Jin-san?"

"He hates Jin," she said.

Suddenly, there was a loud poof! and the Pisces, Rock, laid in his bed as a human. His eyes remained close but slowly opened, looking very confused at what he saw.

"Maia?" he asked, sitting himself up in bed but Maia put her hand on his shoulder, trying to push him down.

"Shh, you're exhausted."

Rock grunted, holding his head. "I feel terrible."

"You're lucky I found you. You were lying next to a gutter when I walked by. What were you doing in the rain without your vitamins? By yourself?" Rock said nothing. "Have you heard anything about Kaoru?" Rock's eyes widened and stared at his sheet, still not saying a word.

"Kaoru?" Haru suddenly asked, breaking their moment. Rock didn't even seem to notice he was here.

"Who are you?" Rock demanded.

"Rock, it's okay," Maia said, trying to calm him. "This is Sohma Hatsuharu-san."

Rock's eyes widened. "Sohma…we are not to be seen with you. If Kaikou-sama found out, he would—"

"He's not going to find out! He won't do anything to you."

"He'll do it to _her._" Maia said nothing. "Where are we?" After a long silence, Rock's eyes widened in anger. "We're here, aren't we? The Sohma estate."

At that, the door opened, revealing, what Rock could only assume, yet another Sohma. At this, he pulled his shirt and pants on and stood up, angrily, taking some food that was in Hatori's hand and went towards the door.

"Had I been anyone else, this could've ended badly, Maia. Stay away from these people."

The door slammed and the three of them stood in silence for a long time, thinking over what Rock had just said. Maia was stunned. Clearly, so were Hatori and Haru.

"Seems a little tense, doesn't he?" Haru said, breaking the ice with a small laugh. But, Maia did not find it funny.

"You don't know what he's been through."

* * *

_Hope you guys enjoyed the little Haru/Maia moment and I hope you guys like Rock! In the next chapter, Yuka's zodiac will be revealed! Any last guesses? No new characters in the next chapter, but you meet another one in chapter 14. I really like that chapter, from what I have planned. Anyway! Be sure to check out my photobucket account to see what Rock looks like. At least, in my head. _

_Special shout out to my four biggest current cheerleaders!: BlackWolfe, The Almighty Pyro, Greeks vs. Geeks, and ferret assassin nin who have been reviewing nearly every chapter and keeping up with this story. Thank you guys for all your support and reviews! Means a lot. _

_**ferrett:** Do I not act like a Scorpio? haha. I agree, though, outwardly stoic doctors are veerry sexy. Why do you think I made Jin like that? :3 Yeah, Ryuu is kind of a jerk. But, I love him. Scorpios unite!  
**Greeks:** Haha, yeah, Akito was kinda of a jerk. But I enjoyed that character. Ooh, well the Leo that is in my story is...a bit annoying. My mom and brother are Leo's and they both annoy me a lot, so this will be very much a stereotypical Leo. Whoops. haha. Hope you enjoy her/him.  
**Pyro: **Well, it's a combination of the bond and that it is true that Kaikou has a soft spot for her. Which isn't necessarily a good thing. lol. He believes in her, which is more than most other people in her family do.  
**Wolfe:** Yes. I love the Ryuu/Maia relationship (: She doesn't deserve him. haha. You're welcome a million! I'll get to it, I promise. haha. _

_Also, since I haven't done this yet, a shout out to my past reviewers that I've never credited. Thank you NekoWolfLolita513, Princess Atemna, animeloser101, Simple Shimmers, Moonlit Days, SaiChanTheArtistGirl-Risa, .razy, Shay426, San child of the wolves, Thanatos Angelos Girl, Name on the Spine, LIFE-Anime-Death, Standard Nerds, ai12love, LaikaTheWolf, Terra Cloud, Wanderer Raen and Tori-Bird62. Your reviews still mean a lot to me!_

_Very special thanks to Miyuki Sohma77 and LilPadfootChicky for reviewing both my Fruits Basket stories, Cursed Constellations, and, Panic!, multiple times, I believe. I don't deserve people like you guys (: Please come back to fanfiction! haha. _

_Have a great day, you guys! _


	12. Crime and Punishment

**Cursed Constellations**

Hey everyone! So, here's the scoop. This will be the last chapter for at least another 10 days. Going on vacation to hike the Grand Canyon until the 7th and I probably won't be able to get around to making another chapter till awhile after I get back. This chapter is someone last minute and shorter than my chapters usually are. Regardless, though, I hope you like it!

There's another Yuka/Hatori moment in here andddd...you find out Yuka's zodiac sign. Eeek! Hope you guys like it.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**XII  
**Crime and Punishment

* * *

The next day, Maia went to bed thinking about everything that had happened with Hatsuharu the day before. Apart from Ryuu, Maia had never really confided in anyone about Chiyo's nightmares. Her problems. The fire. Her parents. Perhaps she was ashamed of it. Too ashamed to tell anyone. Afraid that said person would only betray her and leave.

She was mostly pondering on specific words that he said. That she had lost all trust in people because of the incident. The more she thought about it, the more Maia was convinced it was true. She let what happened with her parents and Kaikou affect the way she perceived anyone trying to be remotely nice to her.

Disappoint them from the start and distance herself…so they could never hurt her. Sometimes, not even that was enough.

Maia had never thought about things like this before. She usually acted how she wanted without consequence or any thought of what others might feel about her. To hell with them. But now…she was almost rethinking how she lived her life. Of course, that didn't last long.

There was a knock at her door. Consistent knocking, to be exact. Pulling on a robe over her kimono, she slipped out of her room. On her way to the door, she checked to see that Chiyo was safely in her bed. She was sleeping soundly, thankfully. Maia smiled softly and then opened the door to their house in the main estate.

Jin was at the door.

"Kaikou-sama wishes to speak with you," he said, calmly.

Maia was blind-sided. Turning behind her, she looked at the clock on the wall. "It's one o'clock in the morning. I have school tomorrow."

"I am only telling you what he ordered me to. This is the extent of my knowledge on the subject. He wishes to see you."

Maia rolled her eyes and slowly closed the door behind her. The two of them walked in silence as they made their way towards the God's house. The moon was full that night, and it was an odd and eerie omen.

When they reached his house, and Maia knocked on Kaikou's door, Jin turned around and left. She would have questioned his motives and asked where he was going, but the door opened.

"Kaikou-dono." Maia bowed to the God, who only grinned.

"Maia, my bull," he sneered. "Come in."

For some reason, Maia let out a large gulp. His tone did not sound happy, and whatever Maia had done, she was in for it. And she was.

"Sit down," he ordered as she walked into the living room.

Maia did as she was told and sat on the couch, her hands in between her thighs, shaking. As Kaikou took his seat beside her, she found herself sweating even more. What had she done? What would the punishment be? There aren't many reasons Kaikou would summon her in the middle of the night unless it was urgent…or he didn't want anyone to hear her scream.

"Have I done something wrong, Kaikou-dono?" Maia asked. She had, clearly, but decided to tread carefully. Maybe it wasn't what she thought…or maybe it was exactly what she feared.

"You tell me, Maia," he said, pouring himself some water on the coffee table and glaring at her. "What did you do yesterday?"

Busted.

Did he know?

"I…I was taking care of Rock. He…he transformed and I found him on the side of the road." Maia didn't know what to do. How could he know, though, that she had spent yesterday mostly with Hatsuharu? Technically, she wasn't lying. She had spent yesterday taking care of Rock.

"Were you with Ryuu?" he asked. The God was grinning. He knew exactly what she had done. Maia could not lie to him. It was one of her many faults that Kaikou loved to toy with.

"No," she finally said.

"Well, Maia, then who were you with?"

Maia bit her lip. How did he know? It was very late when Maia came back and her and Hatsuharu parted a ways from the estate. He just wanted to walk her home. Now, Maia is realizing this was probably a stupid idea. Clearly, Kaikou had eyes everywhere.

"I was with…the Sohma boy."

Right after the words left her mouth, Kaikou slapped her cheek hard and Maia winced, her head lowering into a bow. She walked herself into a trap. He planned this. Maia could never lie to him. Why?

"I'm sorry, Kaikou-dono. I just thought that-"

"Thought that what? You'd deliberately disobey me so you could whore up to some guy right under my nose? Let me tell you, Maia. Nothing gets past me. NOTHING!"

During his outbreak of rage, he pushed Maia onto the ground and she curled up in a small ball, recoiling out of fear and breaking out into tears.

"Don't you have anything to say, you ungrateful piece of meat?"

Maia was still going through a large shed of tears before she found the will to speak. "I…I wasn't thinking, Kaikou-dono. I don't know what to…I would never want to displease you. I…please forgive me!" she pleaded.

Kaikou was still not pleased. He sat on his chair with his arms folded, staring at Maia as if she were a dog. A pet. Maia slowly composed herself and crawled back onto the couch, her head lowered to her God.

"Maia…I don't ask much. And for your personality, I didn't realize I WAS asking much for you to stay away from them."

"I know, but-"

"Don't you interrupt me, I'm already very displeased." Maia shut up. "Everything I have done is for your own good. However, since you don't seem to realize that, let me open your eyes a little bit."

There was a long pause as Maia prepared for the punishment she was about to receive. And it was ten times worse than she thought it was going to be.

"As of today, you are now un-enrolled from the high school you were attending. You will be home-schooled, again." Before Maia could protest, he went on. "Since you didn't listen to my orders to stay away from that family, I've decided to punish you. But in a much more serious matter, because I want you to _know_ in your heart, how big of a line you've crossed."

Maia was terrified…as she should have been.

"This very moment, Jin-san is taking Chiyo into the Serpaint's lair…where she will stay until you learn how to conduct your affairs." And as if that wasn't enough. "If I ever hear from Ryuu, again, that you've been associating with this Haru boy, I will harm her."

Maia was speechless, and tears were running down her face. "You can't…you wouldn't…she is just a girl!" Maia screamed. "She's just a baby!" Maia collapsed into Kaikou who held her tight and stiffly. All of a sudden…Maia realized something.

"Wait…Ryuu?" Tears streamed down her face. "Ryuu told you about all this?"

Kaikou only smiled. Clearly, Maia learning of the betrayal she had received was quite amusing to him. "Surely it shouldn't surprise you."

Maia was recently aware that she could barely breathe, and as tears streamed further down her face forcing her into hiccups, she ran out the door, running straight to the Serpent's lair. Just as Kaikou said…her little sister was lying in a ball in the corner of the most feared room throughout the Eto estate.

The Serpent's lair.

* * *

The following afternoon, Maia marched down to the high school that she was supposedly no longer attending. She decided to give a little someone a visit. A little someone who seriously needed a beating.

It was lunch time when she arrived, and when she reached the lunch room and scanned it, finding Ryuu, she walked towards him and grabbed his ear hard. He didn't stutter or groan. He went where she dragged him to…because he knew what this was about. What else would it be?

She released his ear when they got into the hallway and stared at him with the most painful eyes had she ever given anyone. Ryuu was not staring at her. After seeing those eyes, his attention was on the ground. He couldn't face her. Not right now. He was so ashamed of what he had done.

"You told him?"

Ryuu bit his lip. "…yeah."

"Why?" she asked, trying not to cry.

"I was worried about you, Maia! He's…he's dangerous."

"Dangerous? How? And what if their family is how we can break our curse? Did you ever think about that?"

"You don't know that for sure, Maia. That's just your wishful thinking!"

"At least I'M trying, Ryuu! I'm doing this for you. For Chiyo! And you betrayed us both. I thought you were my best friend, Ryuu…"

Ryuu gritted his teeth and walked towards her, putting his hands and her arms, gripping them tight. "I _am _your best friend, Maia. I was doing what I thought was best for-"

"It's your fault, Ryuu!" she said, suddenly screaming. "You told him! She's having nightmares and I can't comfort her! How could you?"

"I didn't know he would cage Chiyo, I swear! Look, I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back, but I can't. Please forgive-"

Before he could even ask for forgiveness, he felt an extreme pain in his nose as it started to bleed. She had punched him. Maia had never punched him out of anger before…she punched him again, and again. Pretty soon, Ryuu was on the floor, and Maia was so angry, she was crying.

She kicked him as he recoiled on the ground, not saying anything. And after she gave a nice blow with her foot to his head, he couldn't say anything. After he passed out, Maia collapsed onto him in a fit of rage. Her head rested on his shoulder as her arm lightly punched him in the side, knowing that he wasn't even awake to feel her rage.

She couldn't control herself. She was a mess.

Of course, they couldn't go all day without being discovered. And they didn't. Yuka happened to walk past them, thankfully, before anyone else did.

"Ryuu? Maia?"

But Yuka wasn't the only one to find them.

"Yuka?"

It was Hatori.

Hatori stood next to all three of them with a bouquet of yellow flowers in his hand, and once Yuka looked at them, a red tint appeared on Hatori's cheeks. Hatori was blushing. Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to focus on that.

"Hatori?" she exclaimed. "Oh…thank god. Could you—would you mind—if it's not too much trouble, I need to—"

"I will help you bring them to the nurse's office, Yuka."

Yuka didn't have time to tell him her gratitude as the both of them lifted Ryuu's arms around their shoulder, and Yuka woke Maia up. Maia slowly looked up at Yuka, her fist red from beating Ryuu, her eyes drooping. She leaned on Yuka the whole walk, their arms intertwined.

Both of them were either beat or exhausted. Or both. It was a sad sight.

When they got to the nurse's office, the nurse agreed to treat them without saying anything to the principal, thanks to Yuka, who was good friends with her. Ryuu and Maia both sat on separate beds. Ryuu's head, mainly his nose, was bleeding and he had some bruises starting to appear on his chest. Maia was mostly just exhausted, and she rested on her bed, fast asleep, her fist bleeding.

Yuka and Hatori were sitting beside them, Yuka looking worried out of her mind, her breath short.

"Any idea what went on between them?" Hatori asked. He had no idea.

Yuka bit her lip. She nodded. Yes, she had heard everything that had happened. Even though she didn't live with the Eto's, she still kept in touch, and she was informed on drastic updates. Jin had actually called her, and it was the first time they had been in contact in a while. Jin just wanted her to be aware of what was going on.

"Ryuu told Kaikou-sama about the time Maia has been spending with Haru. Evidently, they were together recently and it was the last straw for Ryuu…"

"He cares for her dearly, then," Hatori speculated.

Yuka nodded. "Yes."

"I take it your God has forbidden confrontation with the Sohmas, then."

Again, she nodded. "Oh, yes. He thinks your family is, well, to put it in kind words, evil. If he found out you were here…" She paused, looking over at Maia. "Maia believes the Sohma's are the key to breaking this plague…as well as the curse."

"Do you?"

Yuka pushed some hair out of Ryuu's forehead. It was damp with blood, making her frown. "With all my heart. But, Kaikou-sama locked Chiyo up for speaking with Haru. I can't imagine there will be many brave enough to converse with the Sohma now…"

There was a large silence between both of them. Hopes were not looking high. And if things kept going as they were, the Sohmas and Etos would remain plagued and cursed forever. It was a vicious cycle. There really were cursed with dark experiences. Nothing good would ever come to anyone of either zodiac.

Hatori slowly stood up, clenching the bouquet in his hands. "I brought these for you…and I came to check up on your arm. How is it?"

"It's healing," she responded with a smile, standing up in front of him, looking at the flowers. "They're beautiful. I thank you for these. You really didn't have to."

"You truly are amazing, aren't you?" Hatori asked. Yuka seemed speechless.

"I…I'm not sure what…"

Hatori only smiled. "I suppose I should make my leave. If either Kaikou or Akito found out I was here, it would not end well."

"Of course," she nodded. As he was about to go towards the door, Yuka spoke up. "I liked seeing you today, Hatori-san."

Hatori stopped.

Slowly, he turned around, not really sure how to respond. So, he didn't. Instead, with one quick motion, he walked towards her and encased Yuka's neck with his hands, placing a firm kiss on her lips. A kiss which Yuka quickly fell into.

As his hands reached around her back, there was a small lapse of time where nothing happened and then, just as they both suspected, there were two loud poofs.

Seconds later, on the ground, lied two sets of clothes. One set had a white doctor's coat with black pants and shoes. The other was a yellow flowery dress and white sandals. Next to those clothes was a small brown seahorse…and a mermaid.

Hatori had wondered for the longest time…her name was Yuka, the Aquarius.

* * *

_-cue awwh moment-_

_I do love Yuka and Hatori. Anyway. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Even though it was somewhat shorter than the norm. _

_Thanks goes to The Almighty Pyro, BlackWolfe, ferrett assassin nin and KagomeUchiha101 for reviewing multiple chapters and chapter 11! Glad you guys liked Rock. _

_Stay with me and in a couple weeks, you will meet ANOTHER Eto zodiac member. This one is a girl, and one of my favorites (okay, they're all my favorites. But I like her, too). You also see more-ish of Rock next chapter. W00t!_

_Have a great day, everyone!_


	13. The Photograph

**Cursed Constellations**

Hello! Sorry for the wait. I got back from the Grand Canyon only to go on a trip to Florida and I've been sick and, just, ugh. It's been messy. But I finished this chapter, finally! Introducing: my favorite member of the zodiac. W00t! Won't tell you their name or what zodiac you are (you'll find that out in the next chapter, but you might be able to figure it out). This has always been my favorite chapter that I've planned. I just hope I wrote it right. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

**XIII  
**The Photograph

* * *

Haru had been thinking about Maia a lot lately. Mostly about the day they had spent together after school. That was the last time he had seen here and it had been almost a week. Was she sick? Was she ashamed that she let herself open up to him? Haru didn't know.

All he _did_ know was that he had never seen Maia like that. So vulnerable. On the outside, sure, Maia seemed a bit rough around the edges. She could be mean and distant. Intolerant. However, there are those times where Maia throws all that away for the sake of someone else. Chiyo. Rock. There are clearly certain members in her family that she cares for dearly and Haru suspects that even though she may hate everyone around her, she cares for her family. Every single one of them. In some way shape or form.

Maybe they can't tolerate her. Maybe they even hate her sometimes. But that doesn't stop Maia. Haru suspected she tried to hide it, but these past few weeks have made it obvious. Maia loves her family.

Meanwhile, Haru's family seemed to notice he'd been lost in thought. They were walking home from school that day. Haru had decided to visit Shigure and was walking with Kyo, Yuki and Tohru. He was mostly tuning them all out. Kyo and Yuki were arguing and every now and then you would hear Tohru's peppy voice pop through the conversation. It was truly entertaining.

But Haru saw something.

And he stopped.

Rock.

Rock was sitting on the side of the road, blocking out nearly all that surrounded him. In front of him, he held a photograph. It was a very forceful grip and he was almost glaring at it. As if the person on the photograph had caused him so much grief. It was a mixed emotion. Every so often, his mouth would move and he would mutter various things, none of which Haru could comprehend from where he was standing.

Haru didn't try to approach him. Rock had made it clear that he did not want to converse with any Sohma. He was worried about something.

Rock dropped the photograph on the ground and walked away, not even noticing that Hatsuharu was watching the whole time. He walked away with his hands in his pockets, hunching over slightly. And Haru heard a noise.

Was he crying?

"Hatsuharu?" he heard.

Yuki, Kyo and Tohru had stopped, watching him oddly. Haru only stared blankly back at them. He walked over to where Rock had been sitting and picked up the photograph that Rock had left on the ground.

On it was a picture of a girl. She was clearly a member of the zodiac because she had dark purple hair. Unless she dyed it, there is no other reason for him to have a picture of a girl with different colored hair. The girl was smiling, but only just. It looked as if she were smiling at the person that took the picture. Like the person was her world. Rock, if Haru had to guess. Whoever this girl was, she was very important to Rock.

And Haru decided to take the photograph back to its owner. He needed this. Haru had a picture of Rin in his wallet, and if he lost it, he would be very upset. Clearly, so would Rock.

"Do you mind if we stop by the Eto estate?" Haru asked out loud.

Yuki and Kyo looked shocked. Tohru didn't, of course, because she had no idea what was going on. They hadn't told her, yet. No reason for her to worry about another thing.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Yuki reasoned.

Haru shrugged. "You don't always have to do everything Akito-sama tells you to, you know."

To Kyo, this seemed like a challenge, and he needed no further convincing. Yuki didn't look so sure, but he followed them to the Eto estate. What was the worst that could happen? As long as he didn't hug anyone, there would be no way that Akito would know what he had done.

When they got there, and Haru banged on the door, a familiar face answered the door. Ryuu.

"You," Ryuu growled. Haru didn't even blink.

"Where's Maia?" Haru demanded, momentarily forgetting why he actually came.

"None of your-"

"What happened to your face?" When Haru got a better look, Ryuu's nose looked bruised and broken. What had happened?

"Get off my property," Ryuu sneered.

"Whatever," Haru rolled his eyes. "Forget I asked. Listen. We came here to see Rock." At this, Ryuu stopped his glare and his eyes softened. Haru fingered the photograph and held it out for Ryuu to see. His eyes softened even more. "He left this on the ground."

"Rock doesn't live here."

"Where does he live?" Haru asked.

"Like I'd tell you!" he snapped.

"We just want to return this to him." As Ryuu reached out his hand to grab the photograph, Haru pulled it away. "I found it. _I'll _give it to him. If you don't show us where he lives, then maybe I'll just come inside and look for Maia? I'm sure she'd like to see me. She hasn't been at school lately-"

"Fine," Ryuu said, which surprised all of them.

* * *

The walk wasn't far. It was about the distance from the Sohma house to Shigure's. So, not too far at all. Ryuu was silent the whole walk, and the silence was awkward. Yuki, Kyo and Tohru were all still with them. They weren't doing anything else today.

The house they arrived at was well kept. Nothing too special about it. They heard someone or something in the driveway and walked towards it. There was a car in the driveway and a set of feet and legs coming out from underneath it. Haru was the first to speak.

"Rock?" Haru asked.

"Nope," the voice replied. Coming out from underneath the car, her back on a skateboard, with a wrench in her hand, was a girl. She was blonde and looked older. Past college, if Haru had to guess. Her face and coveralls were drenched in grease, but she didn't seem to mind.

She stood up, putting her wrench on the ground, and put her foot on her skateboard to keep it from going anywhere. Her eyes went to Ryuu and she smiled. Family. Zodiac?

"The name is Eizo," she said, to Haru and the rest. "Rock went out for a walk. He usually does. What can I do ya for?"

The girl seemed very playful and interesting. Definitely tomboyish if Haru had to put a label on it, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"We just…uhm…he left this photograph on the ground and, we wanted to make sure he got it back." Slowly, he handed the photograph to Eizo. Her giddy smile suddenly turned into a frown as she grasped the photograph.

"He probably left it on purpose but, thanks." Haru was about to ask why when she spoke again. "You must be the famous Sohma's everyone keeps talking about. I'm surprised Ryuu hasn't murdered you yet," she said, with a wink at Ryuu. Ryuu's face remained in a glare, which only made Eizo laugh. "Particularly you." She pointed at Haru, and Haru could feel himself getting embarrassed.

"You know us?" Yuki asked, cautiously.

"Word travels. Haru, Yuki, Kyo and Tohru, right?" she asked. All four of them looked shocked, which made Eizo laugh. "Don't worry. I'm not a stalker."

"Eizo-san…who is the girl in the photograph?" Haru suddenly asked. The tone in the air was different, and Eizo stopped laughing. Ryuu didn't say anything.

"Her name is Kaoru," she said in a low tone. Haru recognized that name. Maia had asked about someone named Kaoru when they met Rock last week. Who was she?

"Who is she to Rock-san?" Haru asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"She is his ex-girlfriend." He noted the word _ex._ "He blames himself, it's….it's complicated. When Rock told Kaikou-kun that he was in love with her…he didn't take it so well. He began mistreating her. Hurting her. Kaoru is a very delicate being…and there's only so much she could take."

"She went…away," Haru concluded.

This story was becoming all too familiar. It really did seem that the Etos were not all that different from the Sohma family.

"Yes," Eizo said, sadly. "One day, she just disappeared. It's not unlike her, but, Rock blames himself entirely. He worries about her every single day. It has a very drastic effect on him. See, he's trying to fall out of love with her, but I don't think love works that way."

Eizo seemed to be lost in thought for a long time. They all did. Every single one of them knew how love could take its nasty toll on people of the zodiac. The only person who did not understand, of course, was Tohru, who hadn't said a word. Yet.

"Well, I would love to stay, but I'm afraid I have to go to work soon. It was really nice meeting you two. I hope we see each other again, sometime," Tohru said, finally speaking. Eizo smiled.

"Yes, it was a pleasure," she replied.

"I'll walk you home," Yuki offered.

"I'm going, too," Kyo grunted.

Tohru only smiled. "Okay, well, thank you. Hatsuharu-san, are you coming, too?"

Haru was still sort of lost in speech. The deal with Rock and Kaoru…there would be so much Rock and Haru could talk about. The situation as almost identical to what he was going through with Rin. Haru hasn't seen Rin in he didn't know how long. One day, she just…disappeared. She dumped him, and left, and Haru just knew Akito was behind it.

"I think I'll stay," he finally replied. Neither Tohru, Yuki or Kyo said anything in response. The three of them simply left, leaving Eizo, Haru and Ryuu there to awkwardly stare at each other.

"I take it this story means something to you," Eizo speculated. Haru only nodded. "Would you like to come inside and have some tea or something? I've been trying to learn how to cook, anyway."

"Sure," Haru said and Eizo gestured him inside. When Haru went inside, Ryuu pulled Eizo aside, forcefully. Eizo half expected Ryuu to hell at her for inviting a Sohma into his house, let alone the guy that he was out to get (please, it was so obvious to everyone of Ryuu's feelings for Maia), but that's not what happened.

"You have to talk to Kaikou-sama, Eizo," he pleaded. "Maia's never going to forgive me. She hates me now, Eizo. I don't know what to do. There's no one that can talk to him like you can. Can you please just-?"

"Woah, slow down there, partner. What happened? Breathe. Waaalk me through it."

Ryuu took a long breath in through his nostril and proceeded. "I told Kaikou-sama that Maia had been spending time with Haru. I was just…I was worried about her, Eizo."

"And jealous," she smirked.

"Yes," he said, speaking the truth. Eizo was almost taken aback. She expected a snap from him. "He locked Chiyo in the serpent's lair. There was nothing I could do…I didn't think he would do that. Maia's furious-"

"So that's what happened to your nose." Eizo was the queen of sarcasm and insulting those she loved.

"Eizo, I'm serious!"

"I know, I know," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "Look, I'll talk to him. I promise. And don't worry so much. Maia will warm up to you again. She always does, and I'm pretty sure you've screwed up much worse than this before."

Ryuu didn't laugh or smirk. "Just talk to him…he listens to you." Eizo only nodded. "I'm gonna leave."

Again, she nodded. "I'll stop by tomorrow to see him. Don't worry, Ryuu. It's going to be alright. I'll fix it."

"Thank you."

Without another word, Ryuu left to go home. It was clear that he never liked being in the same room with Haru. He knew Eizo could take care of herself, and besides, Haru was too much of a chicken to try anything funny on her. He knew that much. So, he left, and Eizo went back inside to make tea for their guest.

The thing you need to know about Eizo…she isn't the softest with her hands. A butterfingers, people call her. Not like it bothered her, but it did cost quite a bit of money for all the glass she'd broken over the years.

So, when she finally made the tea and put it in a carton carrying it over to where Haru had sat, she dropped it and it spilt all over the wood floor. There was a reason they didn't have carpet.

"Oh, shoot," she muttered with a small laugh. Retiring into the kitchen, she returned with a rag to clean it up. Haru had stood up and beat her to it.

"Let me do it," he said.

"No, really, that's okay. I'm an expert at this kind of stuff."

"I insist. It's the least I can do."

"…okay."

There was an awkward silence through the room as Haru cleaned up the mess while Eizo sat on her couch, waiting for him to finish. When he finally did, and sat down, the silence continued. For a long time, until Eizo got the courage to speak.

"Thank you for bringing the photograph back," she smiled. "I know he left it on purpose, but he usually regrets things like that later."

"He must care for her a lot."

"More than anything…why does it mean so much to you?" she asked, concerned.

"The Eto and Sohmas curses are not all that different…let's just say this isn't the first time I've heard this sort of story."

Eizo only nodded. She seemed to understand. "You miss someone, don't you?"

There was a silence. Haru didn't usually talk about Rin. Not if he could help it. "Every day." Eizo glanced at the ground, seeming to be aware that whatever Haru was talking about, it was private and, thus, confidential.

"Seems like our families are cursed in similar ways. Odd."

"Like our destinies are intertwined. I'm not so sure that's a good thing."

"It never is. But it will work out," she chirped.

"You know this how?"

Eizo shrugged. "I have faith. Our Gods may be rash and angry, but aren't all Gods? Aren't you supposed to fear and love the one you worship? Don't you? There can be no peace without war. Akito and Kaikou know this. They'll see reason."

"You seem sure of yourself."

"I usually am," she winked.

Haru only smiled. This girl was very different. Different than most of the zodiac he had met of their family, at least. She was kind, but different than Yuka. Braver, stronger and more confident. Yuka, it seemed like Haru could break her emotions like a twig. There were so at the surface. But not Eizo's.

"I don't mean to pry…but Maia hasn't been at school lately. Ryuu won't let me see her…do you-?"

"She is, currently, under confinement…"

"Because?"

"It is not my place to say."

Haru was slightly speechless. This had happened because of him, Haru knew it. Only because Haru spent time with Maia, just talking? It seems like something Akito would do. Thankfully, Akito hasn't really figured out, yet, and if he has, he doesn't care as much. Maybe Kaikou has more to worry about concerning Maia than Akito does him.

"I would keep your distance, Haru-san. Maia is a mess right now."

"Something is happening to her! I can't just sit and do noth—"

"—no, Haru-san, but you have to."

"I know her well enough to know she doesn't do well under punishment! What has he done to her? Why isn't she at sch—"

"Haru-san, calm down. You are a Sohma. This is not your fight. I am going to take care of it."

"You?" Haru asked, sceptically.

Eizo only smiled, proudly, lifting her chin up as if it were glowing. "Kaikou-sama has his favourites, and believe it or not, some of them are not puppets. Leave it [i]all[/i] to me."

Haru only smiled. Of all the people he had met in the Eto family, Eizo seemed almost the least likely to be Kaikou's favorites. If Kaikou was anything like Akito, Eizo would just annoy the living hell out of him. She seemed to be a lot to take. Confident, humorous, happy. Things that Akito didn't seem to enjoy. Then again, one of his most-known favorites was Shigure.

Man, they were so similar, it was scary, sometimes. But also, so different.

* * *

_ By the way, this new fanfiction site is so weird! I got to copy and paste this right into the document manager. It's all foreign to me! Rargh!_

_ Hope you liked Eizo! (:_

_Thank you to my frequent reviewers: BlackWolfe, Pluv143000, ferret assassin nin, The Almighty Pyro and KagomeUchiha101. You guys are awesome and I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far!  
_

_ Next chapter will feature Jin, Yuka and Hatori in the first part. And the second part will have Eizo and Kaikou. Get excited!_


	14. Loyalty

**Cursed Constellations**

Wow, it's been a while. Wish I could say this'll never happen again, but it will. haha. Well, for those who are still reading (or new readers!) I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's been planned and re-planned and written and re-written, but I'm quite happy with this one. Hope you like it! Lots of Hatori/Yuka love...and something else. Oooooh!

* * *

**XIV  
**Loyalty

* * *

_"What are you doing, Hatori? You can't fall in love. Not now. Not her. Akito is going to kill you."_

Hatori was so conflicted. Yuka was so perfect in every way and to be honest, he didn't know how he'd survived so long without her. She makes life seem much less empty, but that's not enough. Not for Akito. What would he say if he ever found out? Hatori shuddered to think. Would he take his other eye? Hatori would not put it past him.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Yuka?" Hatori asked. Yuka came into the living room in her usual yellow dress (she has a lot of yellow dresses) and two cups of hot tea. She set them in front of herself and Hatori, and gave a small, forced smile.

"I don't know…" she confessed. "But you wanted to speak with him."

"I did, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea."

"I know Jin has some theories about the curse that he's not sharing. Maybe you guys could figure something out."

"Like what?" Hatori asked, almost snapping. This was a bad idea.

The doorbell rang.

Yuka sighed. Leaning in, she gave Hatori a small peck on the lips, which Hatori fell into even for such a short period of time, and stood up to get the door. "Well, it's too late now. I can't imagine Jin will say anything."

"This could be very dangerous for you, Yuka. You're risking a lot."

"I know…" She smiled. To Yuka, this was worth it. Hatori was worried.

The door opened and Hatori eavesdropped on their pleasant conversation. Jin seemed pleased to see her. "It's good to see you, Yuka."

"It's good to see you, too. How long has it been since we had a face to face conversation?"

Hatori heard Yuka sigh. "Too long…please come in."

There were footsteps and then Hatori heard a door shut. It was only a matter of time before Jin saw Hatori sitting there. Hatori was not looking forward to this.

"Yuka…what is this…?"

Yuka walked over to the couch and sat next to Hatori, looking at Jin who was standing a little ways in front of them, staring in shock. "Jin…this is Ha-"

"I know who he is. He is the sohma doctor." There was an awkward silence. "What is he doing here?"

Yuka was about to speak but Hatori lifted his hand to silence her. She needn't speak anymore. "I was hoping I could talk to you about our current predicament. Please do not curse Yuka, this was my idea, not hers. You work closely with Kaikou and seem to be the most knowledgeable of all of them. Please…just an hour of your time."

"If Kaikou found out about this, Yuka…"

"He won't."

"He might." It was a threat. Jin was not pleased.

"You do not need to listen to him so religiously, Jin-san! They are not evil. Hatori-san is an intelligent and caring man. Please…they can help us."

"Help us with what?"

Yuka looked at him as if he were an idiot. "To get our lives back. There isn't anything you regret because of him…anything…at all." Jin was silent. There were things he regretted. There were many. And they all revolved around the problems of the zodiac curse.

"Of course there is, Yuka…"

"Good." There was a small silence while the three of them stared at each other. Hatori's eyes went frequently to the ground. He knew very little of the history of Yuka and Jin. To be honest, he didn't very much like to know.

"What did you wish to discuss?" Jin finally asked. Hatori looked up at him, hopefully. There was hope in this man, after all.

"There was never one thing in particular…" Hatori admitted. "There is one thing I had been curious about, though. Something only you would be fully aware of."

"Which is?"

"The health of Kaikou-sama." Jin said nothing. In fact, he was oddly silent and avoided direct eye contact with either of them. "Ah, so you noticed?"

"What are you talking about?" Yuka asked.

"Akito has always been in terrible health, this has never concerned me. What concerns me is how much worse it has gotten since Haru and Maia met for the very first time. Since they hugged. Since the plague started. The day Haru infected Kisa, Akito became ill with the flu. In any other circumstance, it wouldn't bother me…except Akito now breaks out into coughing fits every time Kisa or Haru is around him."

Jin and Yuka were both silent.

"Am I going crazy?" Hatori asked. "Am I overthinking something?"

Jin finally spoke up. "Maia has not been in any direct contact with the males of the zodiac. That is, she hasn't infected anyone. Nor have any of our other family members been infected." Yuka and Hatori exchanged a look. Jin was wrong. What would he say if he found out? "Nevertheless…I fear I must agree with you. Kaikou has gotten worse, so much to the point where he requires almost my immediate and constant attention."

Hatori wasn't sure this made him feel any better. In fact, it made him feel almost worse.

"Has Akito reported to you about any dreams?"

"Dreams?" This was the first Hatori has heard about this.

"Kaikou describes them as almost hell. He's in a room of complete darkness, alone with no lights. All he hears is laughter. At first, it was Maia's voice. Recently, I've heard complaints about Yuka's laughter, too." Yuka's face whitened. Hatori said nothing. "Is there something the two of you wish to tell me?"

Hatori sighed, nearly terrified. "The laughter must come from those infected by the plague."

Jin seemed to get the message. "I see."

"Akito wakes up crying a lot…I ask him why, he doesn't share." All three of them seemed to be thinking very deeply. "Do you have any theories?"

"I do…but I doubt they're theories." Hatori was intrigued. "The bond is breaking, it's as simple as that. You two must feel it, somewhere. Your sense of obedience. The voice in the back of your head telling you to love him. That's gone, isn't it?"

Hatori hadn't thought about that before, to be honest. "I wouldn't say that." Hatori would always love Akito. He looked over at Yuka. Her head was down and she was nearly crying. "Yuka?"

Jin smiled. "I expected as much from you. A doctor's love to his patient…that never really goes away, no matter what. But Yuka…who holds such pent up anger for him…why, you must feel free. Free of that love that you couldn't explain. Kaikou could tell you to bow to him, right now…and you wouldn't. You can do that, now. Your bond has broken."

"But that doesn't make any sense…the curse is getting stronger. The transformations have doubled their normal appearance. Why would the bond be breaking?"

Jin shrugged. "I don't have all the answers, but I can guess. If you were a God…and the connection with your people was fading away…wouldn't you do everything you could to fight back? This has nothing to do with Akito or Kaikou. This has to do with the first Gods."

"So what will happen if everyone gets infected? From both families?"

Jin smiled. "I don't know…but I daresay we'll find out."

* * *

Eizo was on a mission. She had her rainbow striped suspenders hooked over her blue tye-dyed shirt to a pair of old, ripped jeans with holes at the knees and white paint stains scattered everywhere. While she looked completely ridiculous, and she knew this, she had more determination than any woman you were likely to meet at that hour. She opened the large door to the Eto estate, letter her own self in, and marched her way through to the God's house. On the way, she passed the Serpant's lair with Maia crying right outside it. A little girl lay curled up in a ball in the corner.

This made Eizo's blood boil.

She slammed the door open, causing Kaikou to jump a little. He looked over and saw Eizo…and smiled.

"Eizo. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You know damn well what," she growled. "Ryuu told me you caged Chiyo."

His smile faltered. "I did what needed to be done."

"Horse shit. You did it because you knew it would hurt her. You knew it would make her cry."

"I don't take joy in these things, Eizo."

"Oh, really? So, Maia sitting outside the serpant's lair every day, crying her eyes out. No food, no sleep, constantly worried sick. That doesn't give you the slightest tinge of pleasure? Of satisfaction?"

Kaikou said not a word. In fact, he smiled a little bit.

"You sicken me."

Had Eizo been any other zodiac member, Kaikou wouldn't have allowed them to say these things. In fact, at this point, they would've been sleeping with their teeth outside their mouth that night. No one talks to Kaikou like that. No one. Except Eizo.

"I know I do," Kaikou said in a very sombre tone.

"Why are you doing this?" Eizo's voice seemed tortured.

"She's becoming too involved with the Sohma family. I had to do something."

"Haru is a boy. They are in high school. Surely you haven't forgotten what it's like to be sixteen and in love." Kaikou closed his eyes, sighing through his nostrils. "You haven't…have you?"

"Of course I haven't, Eizo. But that was a long time ago."

"Not so long ago…" Eizo said, quietly. Her voice sounded so hurt. So rejectec.

"Eizo, I cannot have her involved with that Sohma boy. It is too angerous."

"For who? For her or for you?" she snapped.

"For all of us." Eizo fell silent, furious. "I'm protecting us, Eizo. I can't be sure of the consequences but look what already has happened? Maia cannot even hug her own kind."

"Her kind…you speak of us like a breed."

"We are a family."

A small tear fell down Eizo's face and she looked up into the eyes of her God, then towards the ground. "I'm not."

"Don't do that, Eizo! You are the most family I have in the Zodiac. Stop torturing yourself, I absolutely forbid it."

Eizo began to cry and fell onto her knees, bowing her head before her God. A couple of tears fell to the floor and for a while, Kaikou didn't know what to do. This has happened many times before. It was hard on the both of them, but Eizo received the majority of the pain. Kaikou could only try to convince her so many times.

Slowly, Kaikou put his hand on her head. His hand lowered and fell down, softly, to her chin. He lifted it up just a little bit and kept raising it until he slowly to the point where she was standing. She fell a couple inches shorter than him and looked up into his eyes, her eyelids drooping. Very slowly, her lips found her ways to his and, for a moment, they both fell into the kiss.

Kaikou even increased the speed. He began to kiss her more intense and Eizo responded just as much. His hands reached her back and hers went up to his head, making their way through his hair. Kaikou felt her tears on his cheeks and kissed her through her sobs.

Finally, though, he stopped it. He pushed Eizo away from him slightly.

"No." There was so much hurt in Eizo's eyes. "Eizo…we can't."

Eizo gave a miserable laugh through her hiccups. "Right, I forgot. I'm just an outsider, now."

"Stop it, Eizo," Kaikou snapped. His eyes warned her not to continue. She stopped. "I just think that…" he sighed. It was easy to tell this was very hard for him. "That can't happen again."

"You always say that."

"I know…"

"I love you," she confessed.

"I know that, too."

The two of them were silent for a long time, and they simply stared into each other's eyes. Eizo knew that he loved her, too. He had to. For every time they've come into contact with each other, he's always stopped it. It was too much for him. After he had denied the love of nearly everyone else…he didn't want to seem like a hypocrite.

Eizo bit her lip and wiped the tears off her face. "Jin says you've been getting worse," she said, eager to change the subject. Though, she was still just as concerned.

"I am fine." She didn't believe him. "How are you? Do you need money? I know it's been hard supporting Rock and-"

"I do not want your money. We get by. You forget how hard of a worker I am."

This led Kaikou to smile. "You were my Capricorn, after all."

The words hurt Eizo and she closed her eyes, bowing her head slightly.

"I was."

* * *

_So, Eizo's zodiac has been revealed! Buuut, if you didn't figure it out...she's not cursed! AAAH! I hope you like the Eizo/Kaikou romance. I always thought they were so cute. Just wait! It gets even more dramatic with them later. Ooooh! lol_

_Thanks to my returning reviewers for the last chapters (who seem to keep updated with the story no matter how little I update): Greeks vs Geeks, BlackWolfe, KagomeUchiha, and the Almighty Pyro. As well as a new reviewer, The MarissaNight. _

_Thank you guys so much! And thanks to those who just read it and don't review. I really get excited when anyone favorites or follows this story, so, thank you! I've planned this story for a long time. I just...never find time or motivation to update all the time. I hope you understand :/ _

_In the next chapter, Haru and Rock will get together and discuss a few things (like how similar they are). You'll also figure out more about Kaoru as well as her Zodiac affiliation! It will also feature a Haru and Maia moment, but I don't think it's the kind you're gonna like XD No new characters next chapter, though. _


	15. Good Girl

**Cursed Constellations**

Guess what?! It's been less than a month since my last update! I've been planning the next like...five to six chapters of this story and I want to get to the exciting parts! So, I kind of breezed through this one in a day or two. Hopefully it doesn't feel like that.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**XV  
**Good Girl

* * *

Haru wasn't paying attention. He wasn't aware that he was jamming his pencil into his desk until Momiji nudged him, mouthing what the heck was wrong with him? Haru didn't really know. It had been weeks since he'd last seen Maia and that had been long enough. Something was wrong. Even Ryuu, who is usually getting into fights constantly, was surprisingly calm. He'd get his lunch and sit at a table by himself, eating so very slowly. He ran into him one time and Ryuu didn't even say any insult towards him. He simply nudged past him, quickly, as if he'd just been crying.

Sure, he believed that Eizo was going to take care of it, and maybe she did. Regardless, it had been a while since his visit with the strange, albeit obscure, Eto and he still hadn't seen her.

Would he ever see her again?

Well, he wouldn't leave it up to fate to decide that. Haru decided to give a little visit on his way home from school. Enough was enough. What he discovered when he got there, though, was by far more morbid than he thought would have happened.

Going towards Eizo's house, he found the garage door open. There were no feet under the car this time, though. This time, he found Eizo with her back turned and her head facing the wall. The wall was covered with a large sheet of paper that was taped securely. Haru made a small 'hmm-hmm' noise with his mouth. When Eizo turned around, he saw her with a coffee-shop apron on covered with several different colours of paint.

"Haru-san!" she smiled. "To what do I owe this—?"

"What's happened to Maia?"

Her smile stopped. She seemed speechless. "Haru…you know I can't—"

She was cut off, again.

"She's not allowed to see you."

Haru's head turned, looking towards the new voice. It was Rock…

"Why not?" Neither of them answered. "She's going to fail school! Now, I'm worried about her…"

"She doesn't go to school anymore," Rock said, clearly much calmer than Haru was at the moment. Before Haru could scream 'why not,' Rock answered that, too. "Kaikou put her back into home-schooling."

"Because?!" Haru was getting angry. They were dodging his questions.

Rock laughed and shook his head. "You don't know? Because of you."

Haru was finally silent and the Black part of him was fading. It was his fault…but he hadn't done anything. Life was just getting so complicated.

"Can I see her?" His voice was soft and almost begging. He wanted to tell her he was sorry. Not sure what he was sorry for…he just felt like he had to be.

"Why don't you boys go for a walk?" Eizo suggested. Rock was about to protest. "Rock…he has a right to know. It's okay."

"It's not okay! Look what he did to Maia for just talking to—?"

Haru looked appalled. Just what did everyone know that he didn't? "Rock…please."

Grudgingly, Rock made his way out of the driveway without even waiting for Haru. Eizo gave him a nudging look and Haru followed him. He wasn't sure why Eizo wanted them to talk, alone. He came to see Eizo. In fact, he'd completely forgotten that Rock had lived with her.

They walked for a while in silence through the park. Mostly, Rock was looking left and right as if he were going to be caught in the act. Haru said nothing. He wouldn't talk until Rock was ready. All of a sudden….Rock stopped. Haru was taken off guard.

"Look…Haru, right?" Haru nodded. "I don't hate you. I just…it's complicated. I can't afford any bad blood between me and Kaikou right now. He just…he has too much on me."

"I know the feeling," Haru mumbled, going over the disputes he'd had with Akito about Rin.

"Maybe…" Rock took a deep sigh. "Ryuu told Kaikou everything. He told him how you and Maia were spending so much time together…and Kaikou didn't like that."

"What did he do to her, Rock-san…? Please."

"He didn't do anything to her." Haru was confused. "The most important person in the world to Maia is Chiyo. Anyone who spends thirty seconds with her and her sister knows this…there is a room in our estate. It's a little complicated and morbid, but it's meant for someone in our family. The room is dark and secluded…"

"He put Chiyo there…"

"Until she learns to behave by his standards."

Haru felt his knees buckle and he nearly collapsed onto the ground. Rock slowly knelt down next to him, not sure what to do.

"I feel awful…"

"Don't. Kaikou would've done this anyway. It's just who he is…"

Rock's mind seemed to trail off for a second. His eyes went towards the ground and closed for a few seconds while his breath went back and forth as if he were lost in thought. Clearly, something was one his mind.

"Rock." He snapped out of it. "Can I ask you something?" Rock didn't say anything so Haru assumed that meant yes. "Who was the girl in the photograph?"

Haru already knew who it was. He wanted to hear it from Rock. If what Eizo said happened was true…he and Rock were much more alike than Rock probably thought they were. They could help each other. Maybe.

At this question, Rock fell backwards and sort of sat on the ground. His hands folded on top of his knees as he thought about forming an answer to the question, if he was even going to answer it.

"Kaoru."

He said that as if that explained everything. Clearly, he was a man very much in love.

"She is an Eto?" Haru asked. Rock nodded.

"She's my Virgo…" Ahh, so she was the Virgo. Interesting.

"Where is she?"

Rock let out a small, tortured laugh. A small tear escaped his eye which he wiped away very quickly. "I don't know. She sort of just left one day. A year ago. I haven't seen her still. I loved her and it didn't matter to me what Kaikou said or did because…to hell with him. One day…I just sort of confessed to him. Felt like he had a right to know. He did…unthinkable things to her and I just couldn't take it anymore so….I left. I moved in with Eizo. When I came back, she was gone. No one seemed to know where she went. I don't know what happened…don't think I want to."

Haru was silent for a long time. He wasn't really sure what to say. Whatever Haru had imagined Rock had gone through…it went nothing like this. It sounded all too familiar to him, too. Like he was watching someone live his life, nearly.

"I never told her, either…"

"Never told her what?"

"That I loved her."

Haru was even more silent…after all this, she didn't even know?

"She's the Virgo…" Rock only nodded. "Well…what does she transform into, then? I mean…you're a Pisces so you're obviously a fish. Maia is a bull. Ryuu, a scorpion. But Virgo just means virgin…that's not an animal."

Clearly, this was the wrong question and Rock almost started to cry, again. "She doesn't have an animal." Haru didn't pry any more but Rock continued. "You know the stories of werewolves…and how painful the transformation process is? Well…that's what she goes through."

"It's painful?"

"She's an angel. Wings sprout from her back. They break whatever shirt she's wearing…she screams every time."

Haru couldn't even imagine. Something cutting through his skin. To not only have to worry about what the person you hugged would think when you transformed, but to have to actually worry about how unbelievably painful it would be.

"Her father used to hug her on purpose...he hated her."

Both of them were silent for a long time. This whole conversation led him to think about Rin a lot.

Of course, he was still in love with her. Her long, black hair. Her caring and feisty personality. People always made her out to be this dark and evil, selfish person. They couldn't be more wrong. She was perfect.

In a way, Maia reminded him a lot of Rin. They were very similar. For instance, when once first meets Maia or Rin, you expect something much different. You expect them to be hard and unloving, but it was just the opposite. It was all a front…and act. They were, at the heart, caring and loving people. To those they loved, they cared deeply. Those were the people he really enjoyed being around…because he knew they loved him.

If only he could see Rin again…find out what was really happening. There was so much he didn't know.

"My girlfriend left me, too, ya know," Haru confessed. "Rin…she's the Horse. I loved her, she loved me…then one day…she was just gone. Broke up with me...every time I try to see her, says she doesn't want anything to do with me." Rock was silent. "I know _he_ had something to do with it, though."

"He?"

"Akito."

"Your God." Haru nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Me, too."

* * *

Remembering everything that Rock had told him in their conversation yesterday, Haru packed the books in his backpack, getting ready for school. His thoughts went only to Maia. Little Chiyo in that room all by herself, curled up in a little tiny ball. He can't imagine what this must've been doing to Maia.

He knew that by everyone's rules, he wasn't allowed to see her. It was frowned upon by Hatori. Banned even more so by Akito. Rock wasn't fond of the idea, either. Ryuu had threatened him he didn't even know how many times to stay away from her, and who knows what Kaikou would do to her, again, if he ever saw her with him.

This was ridiculous! They were already affected by the plague. What else could happen? What's worse than this? They transform permanently? Not likely. No, he had to see her. Now.

Before school started, Haru made his way towards the Eto estate. He would not let her slip away, and he certainly wouldn't let her fall. Not when he wasn't around to catch her.

Dreading the idea of knocking on the door and having Ryuu answer, again, he realized he didn't even need to bother. On his way towards their main doors, he heard something. Crying. And he could bet who it was, also.

Fastening his pace to a fast run, or near a jog, he found Maia leaning against the tall, brown fence of the estate, wiping her eyes. She was talking to herself, but Haru could not hear what she was saying. Surely, they were words of hatred and sorrow.

Walking up to her quickly, he knelt down next to her.

"Maia…" She looked startled to see him and jumped, slightly. "I'm sorry…Rock told me what happened."

"You spoke to Rock?" she asked.

Haru nodded but then shook his head, as if that weren't important. "He said it's my fault."

"It's Ryuu's fault," she mumbled.

"Ryuu?"

"Nevermind…"

"I'm gonna help you, Ma—"

"Just leave me alone."

This took him back a little. The old Maia, the one he had first met who told him not to touch her, she was back. The cold Maia who refused to get close to anyone. Who refused to let anyone in. Ryuu and Kaikou had forced that out of her again.

"What?"

"I said leave. Me. Alone."

"I'm not gonna do that until you talk to me about Ry—"

"Stay away from me, Haru!" Small tears began to fall down her face and Haru felt even worse. There was nothing he could do.

But he didn't budge. "Maia, no, just listen to me!" She began to push his arms away from her and stood up as if to walk away. Haru only followed. He grabbed her arm and turned her around, which she tried to push back. "I want to help you find a place where Chiyo will be—"

"No!" she screamed. "She's safe here! She's safe…without you. You started this, Haru! YOU! Not Ryuu. You…and you need…to leave us…alone."

"But—"

"I never want to see you again, Haru. Not ever."

At this, Haru let go. His eyes simply stared into hers, her angry, dark eyes. They were baggy underneath indicating she hadn't slept in days. Tears were falling down her cheeks and it looked as if they'd been falling down for quite some time. The idea of her moving on without him…he wasn't going to lie…he didn't want that. He wasn't sure what he wanted out of this.

There were many times he thought of Rin. He still loved her, but she, clearly, was over him. It was time to move on, wasn't it? He thought he had. He thought he'd found a girl who was perfect in every way. She had style, she had class. She had spunk. She was tough but, also, so fragile. He could break her emotions like a twig, it seemed.

And now….she was telling him to leave.

With that, Haru said not another word. He took a couple steps back, staring at her as if waiting to make sure this was what she really wanted. With a small sigh…he left. He left Maia alone sitting next to the edge of the fence.

After a while, when he got out of sight, Maia's knees crumpled onto the ground and tears began to spread down her face. What had she just done?

She felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and, when she looked up, she saw Kaikou looking down at her with a smirk of approval. Clearly, this was what Kaikou wanted. He wanted Haru out of the picture, with no point of return.

Well, Kaikou got his wish.

"Good girl," he said. "Good girl."

* * *

_Sad day :( But you found out Kaoru's zodiac and, also, their back story! Yaaay. I hope you liked how the Virgo transformed. I had that idea for some time. _

_Thanks for the reviews from BlackWolfe and TheAlmightyPyro! You guys keep me going! Hopefully, it wasn't as bad as you were picturing, Pyro. haha. And Wolfe, hope you like Eizo, then, if she's your zodiac (:_

**_Also! I have a question for you guys!_**

_So, I was thinking of starting another furuba fanfic. Possibly a shorter one. This one's going to be about a werewolf, actually. haha. Mostly because I"ve never seen a werewolf one with fruits basket XD It'll be about a family pack of werewolves and they're cursed and whatever. But my question is NOT if it's a good idea (XD) because I'm doing it already. My question is who should it center around? I'm thinking either Hatsuharu or Momiji. Just because I don't think Momiji gets a lot of love...but I love Haru. _

_I dunno. What do you guys think? _

_Also, with the next chapter, you will meet another character. Yay! And more people get infected with the plague! AAAAH! Look out, people! That's plural people, not just one person. The story gets pretty interesting after that, I think. _

_Ta-ta till next time!_


	16. The Importance of Embrace

**Cursed Constellations**

Woohoo! I'm just on a roll with updating, aren't I? Well, spoiler alert, Chiyo is in this chapter as well as a new face. And you DO find out the Zodiac of this character in this chapter so, that's pretty exciting.

I really am trying to update more! As in, a couple times a month, if not more. I think I'm closer to the end of this story than I thought I was XD Either that, or I'm just gonna have to come up with more drama XD You've reached a really cool part if you're still reading. It only gets better from here (in my opinion, anyway)!

* * *

**XVI  
**The Importance of Embrace

* * *

How long had it been? Maia lost track of the days a long time ago. Time didn't matter if she didn't have her sister, there, to share it with her. She was lost. Physically and emotionally lost.

Not that her sister was doing any better. Maia stopped visiting the cell. The girl wouldn't answer. Whenever Maia came to visit, all she saw were two girls curled up in the corner. Chiyo had snapped, and, thus, white and black Chiyo had been released. The both of them were crying. Black Chiyo wasn't even being rude for she, too, was scared.

At least Maia didn't have to worry about them being separated…but that was hardly the bright side.

Chiyo didn't respond to Maia anymore. At the beginning, whenever Maia came to visit, Chiyo would throw herself at the bars of the cell and sob while her sister tried to assure her that everything was going to be alright. That she would be out soon. Soon, for all that Maia knew, could go on forever. It depended on how angry Kaikou was with her. It depended on how long he wanted to see her suffer.

Throw Maia in the cell for a month, a year, it wouldn't matter. Maia would survive. She always did. But Chiyo…she was so delicate. So small.

Family members ceased trying to comfort her. Her temper was back, and it was strong. Her hatred towards Ryuu intensified to the point where he didn't even chance going near her anymore. And when she wasn't screaming at innocent family members, she spent the rest of her time crying in misery. Maia had spent her whole life protecting Chiyo, and she's got nothing but hell from it since. This is her payment.

She sat on the ledge of the porch to her house, her head in her knees. Every day, she did this. Every day…she cried.

"I miss her, too, Maia."

Onii.

Onii was Chiyo's very best friend. He had been there for Chiyo in many ways that Maia could not have been. Maia has been known to tantrums and could be hard to handle. Onii wasn't. Whenever Maia was in a rage, Chiyo would turn to him for comfort. It was a friendship Maia could never copy.

He had always been a strange one.

"You are leaving, aren't you?" he asked.

"Not without my sister."

"Right," he said, agreeing with her. "You love him, don't you?"

Now, she was really confused. "Who?" Onii looked at her with the look of 'don't act like you don't know'. How did he know about Haru?

"I know why Chiyo's in there. You're angry with him."

"I do not hate him."

"I didn't say hate," he told her, taking a seat beside her, staring off into the distance. Maia looked down at him in confusion. Such a strange little boy.

Onii had always had an interesting temperament. He was so calm. Much calmer than any little boy, albeit person, she had ever met. And sometimes…it was almost as if he _knew_ things. Things he shouldn't. Things he couldn't. It wasn't as if Maia could say she didn't believe in magic. However, it did seem a bit farfetched. It's as if Onii had a sixth sense, or something. It was something…

"Kaikou was right, Onii. It's not safe."

"Perhaps not, not for him." The boy wrapped his arms around his legs and remained to look into the distance, as if a butterfly some ways away was catching his interest. As if he was barely comprehending the conversation at hand but, at the same time, speaking so symbolically it was almost hard for Maia to keep up.

"For all of us," Maia corrected, trying to remain the authoritative figure. He was, after all, just a young boy. He was barely older than Chiyo and she was simply a baby.

"'suppose," was all he said. Maia frowned.

"I really don't have time for this Onii-kun. Is there something you wish to say?" She was losing her temper.

Onii only laughed and stood up, his head, still, barely reaching over hers even as she sat. "No, Nee-chan. There's something I wish you to see." Onii looked past Maia towards the other houses.

Coming towards her house was a tall man. Kaikou. In his hand, he was dragging a moping Chiyo beside him. Her head was down and her arm was limp holding his hand. She looked simply exhausted. Without skipping a beat, Maia stood up and ran to Chiyo's side, kneeling before her.

She brushed the tears off of Chiyo's cheeks and was checking her all over to make sure she was okay. Finally, she frantically grasped the sides of her head and buried her face into Chiyo's hair. She could hear sobs from Chiyo while she did so.

A hand went upon Maia's head and Maia looked up towards Kaikou, bowing slightly, tears still falling.

"It was for your protection, my lovely bull." Lifting up Maia's chin with his finger, he bent down a kissed her forehead, then made his leave towards his exit.

As she watched him leave with tears in her eyes, she turned back to Chiyo, who said not a word. Not being able to hold it in any longer, Maia wrapped her arms, tightly, around her sister, hugging her as if she'd never hugged another person before.

But not very long.

First there was one Poof…then there were two.

A bull and two young girls stood next to each other. One girl had white hair…the other…black. Onii stood in front of the three figures, not surprised at all. As if he knew this was going to happen.

* * *

Maia didn't understand. She was in a haze. Chiyo was her sister. She was a girl. Maia knew she couldn't hug males out of the zodiac, and Hatori _had _warned her that it could be dangerous…but she was female! It made no sense. She knew she couldn't hug Ryuu anymore, but Chiyo?! Her baby sister…

Besides, hadn't Haru hugged one of his male cousins and nothing happened? Oh, Maia wished she could remember everything Hatori said to her that day. If she hadn't been so stubborn…

Chiyo and Onii were in the kitchen, keeping Maia company as she proceeded to freak out. Chiyo said very little, it was Onii trying to calm her down.

"It's not so tragic," he told her in his calm tone. Chiyo directed her attention towards the ground while Maia had her head on the table.

"No, it's worse," she mumbled.

"Oh, you're such a child."

"I'm a child?" she protested. "I'M a _child?!"_

"Nee-chan," Chiyo begged. It was the only thing that could get Maia to calm down, but she still proceeded to take very heavy, rapid breaths.

"Okay, no, okay, it's okay. It is, because…because I'll find Hatori-san. I'll find him. He seems to know whatever's making this plague spread. If I go to Jin, he'd just…well, I don't even want to know what he'd do."

"Hatori-san?"

"The Sohma doctor," Maia answered.

"I know who he is," the boy pouted. "Can you think of a stupider thing to do? Kaikou has you on watch, now."

"How do you know?" Again, Onii gave her the 'haven't you figure it out, yet?' look. Maia rolled her eyes. "Onii, I'm sorry. You're not psychic. Whatever this phase is, it's great and I'm happy for you, but you need to stop."

"You know I'm always right about these things, Maia." Onii walked over towards the window and looked out, with a gaze to his face. Maia, paranoid, went over to the window to see what he was looking at. Nothing.

"Just…the both of you go and watch tv or something, alright? I can't, I just…" Clearly, she was frustrated. Chiyo and Onii exchanged looks of worry but eventually rolled their eyes and went into the living room knowing that Maia just needed a little time to calm down. It wasn't as tragic as she thought it was.

The two of them sat on the ground, leaning up against the couch. They turned on the television, switching to a channel with their favourite anime on it. It was something to do with animals. Onii never really paid attention. He just liked watching Chiyo when she watched it. She was what he lived for. She was his best friend.

"I am glad you're safe, Chiyo," Onii said, lightly taking her hand.

Chiyo smiled. "Me, too."

"Stay with me."

Onii didn't smile. He didn't frown. His tone was serious and he squeezed her hand a little bit. Onii was worried about her. Something terrible was going to happen, he could feel it.

And he knew he didn't want her to go through it without him at her side. He would always be there…

With no hesitation, Chiyo nodded, squeezing his hand back. They simply looked at each other, not smiling or frowning. There was a mutual understanding.

* * *

Maia observed the two through the kitchen, not being able to contain her smile as she watched them. Watching a pair like that gave hope to this dull world. She so hoped he would be her future brother-in-law.

Suddenly, there was a light knock at the door. Slightly worried, Maia slowly made her way towards it as if it were a burglar. Looking out the window, though, through the darkness, she saw Ryuu. He didn't' look angry or particularly happy.

She still wasn't sure how she felt towards him at the moment. They hadn't talked since Chiyo's imprisonment, and if they did, it was yelling from her side. Maia was the only person that Ryuu would pull his punches for. He wouldn't strike back, which was odd of a scorpion.

"Please open the door, Maia," he begged. "I won't come in if you don't want me to…but I'd really like a chance to talk to you."

Closing her eyes a bit, she unlocked the door and held it open for him. It was dark outside, and he nearly blended in with the outdoors. Perhaps he liked it that way.

"What do you want, Ryuu?" she asked, already annoyed. She still hadn't forgiven him.

"Look…I know you think I did this…awful thing. And I did…I feel terrible. But I only did it to protect you. Look what he's done to you…you can't even hug your own. I was worried that it would only get worse, Maia.

"I miss my best friend…please tell me I haven't lost her for this."

Closing her eyes, she breathed in, deeply. Inside, she missed him, too. She used to be able to talk to him about anything. She missed that.

"You haven't…" Ryuu smiled. "But you know I won't let this go anymore,"

"I know—"

"And there's nothing you can do to prevent me from seeing the Sohma family," she said, firmly.

"Of course." He was very gloomy at this, though.

"Ryuu, I'm doing this for all of us. For you. What if we break the curse? What if it gets worse before it gets better and we're free? Isn't that...I mean, isn't that what you want?"

"I want that more than anything in this world." Maia was slightly taken back by this comment, but before she could reply, he interrupted her. "Maia…I need to tell you something. I didn't just tell Kaikou about Haru to protect you."

There was a small beat of silence. Maia didn't understand…

"I told him because I love you." The breath in Maia's lungs took advantage of her for just a second and she choked on her own breath. What did he just say? "I was an idiot. I was insanely jealous of him. You'd always been my Maia and, suddenly, you're spending so much time with him and I couldn't…I couldn't lose to him. I couldn't lose you."

"Ryuu…you could never lose me…"

"No. I won't."

Without skipping a beat, Ryuu closed the distance between the two of them and kissed her. It wasn't too long before she found herself kissing back and he increased the intensity of the kiss once he realized this. His hands went through her hair and slowly went down to her back.

And within those ten seconds, there were four poofs.

In the kitchen held a bull and a scorpion…and in the living room, there was one crab, surrounded by two little girls.

Down the road, not five houses away, Kaikou-sama screamed out in pain and collapsed.

* * *

_Oh noes! What happened to Kaikou?!_

_As usual, thank you to my old and new reviewers: The Almighty Pyro, BlackWolfe, ferret assassin nin, diamondlvr2 and year of the fox! Glad everyone seems to be liking Eizo. She's my favorite (: _

_In the next chapter, there are no new characters, but there will be a very small appearance of a character that has been mentioned a lot but has not made an appearance (you can guess, I think, as to who that will be). There will be more Ryuu/Maia in the next chapter as well as...well...Haru/Maia. Poor Maia is so confused. _

_Also, you find out something shocking about Eizo and get a glimpse into Jin and Yuka's relationship. _

_Hope you guys are looking forward to it! The chapter is pretty much written, I just have to edit it and find the motivation to post it. It should be up within this week! I really like this chapter. _


	17. Bedridden

**Cursed Constellations**

Look at me! Two updates in one week! Aren't you guys the lucky ones? I'm going to try and get another chapter up before next weekend because I'm leaving for two weeks after that and don't know when I'll have access to the internet. Oh, so do you remember how I had their pictures up on photobucket? Don't know if any of you were keeping up with that...but they're gone, now. My entire memory card got erased (the one that had all my pictures for everything)...so...that's it.

I forgot to mention that you learn Kaikou's back story in this story! Something to look forward to. Hope you guys all liked the last chapter! And I'm glad you guys seem to be liking Onii. You probably won't see THAT much of him, but you guys did get that he was the cancer, right? Because he's the crab? I think in the next chapter, I'm going to give a small review of the characters that you've met and their zodiacs.

Anyway! I really like this chapter so, I hope you do, too! It's relatively long but, hey, more for you guys to enjoy (:

* * *

**XVII  
**Bedridden

* * *

He looked so small lying in that bed, Kaikou. It's sometimes hard to believe he had the control over them that he does. Such a small being. So tiny. So weak.

It was late in the night when Jin called her telling her what had become of Kaikou. She near about had a heart attack and immediately began feeling guilty for everything she'd said to him at their last meeting. She said such harsh things, and they weren't true. She didn't mean a word of them. She loved him.

No one really knows this. Well, she supposes a few of them have to suspect. The two of them are very close. All most of them really know is that the relationship between Kaikou and Eizo is special. They are both the same age, twenty-two, and they've been through a lot. That's all anyone knows. People see Eizo go into the God's chambers, alone, frequently. The ones that see this often must have their suspicions. Eizo could care less, really. In her current situation, though, Kaikou would probably want to keep it secret, if he even knew. If it was up to Eizo, she'd be telling everyone. Friends, family, people in line at…starbucks. Just…anyone. Kaikou wouldn't want to do that.

Of course, now, given his circumstances, she'd have to wait even longer to tell him. The last thing she wants to do is give him _another_ heart attack.

The door opened and Jin entered with two cups of coffee, one for himself and one for Eizo, who was sitting in a chair pulled up right next to Kaikou's bed, her head lying on the bed in her arms right next to his. Jin walked over and put his hand on her head, waking her up a little bit. She took the cup of coffee and silently thanked Jin, taking a sip. Eizo's coffee had no sugar in it, or cream. She liked her coffee strong, as her personality was.

"Thank you for calling me, Jin," she told him in a quiet voice. It was exhausted and did not sound like Eizo at all. Usually, Eizo is peppy and energetic. Not this Eizo. "He looks so small…"

"Yes…I wonder what has happened."

"How do you mean?"

"Kaikou has never had a heart attack before…something terrible must have occurred for his body to take this much of a hit."

"You mean the Sohmas, then." Jin nodded. Eizo didn't say anything else. She set her coffee down on the table and laid her head and arms next to Kaikou's on the bed, again.

"He told me, Eizo," Jin said. She raised her head up, in slight alarm. "You are not the only one he trusts with private information."

"What do you think it means?"

Jin looked down at Eizo, who was looking up at him with such desperation. Such tragedy. With a sigh, Jin took a seat beside her as she stared at him, waiting for answers. He had none. "I don't pretend to be an expert, Eizo."

"But you have some theories?"

"Well…do you think it's quite odd that every generation we've talked to or heard of…none of them have had every single horoscope member? We have all of them. When did yours break?"

"About six years ago…"

"Chiyo is seven. I'm guessing that triggered it." Eizo still didn't understand. "We're all together, again…for our last banquet."

"So, the curse was going to break, anyway…even without the Sohmas," Eizo concluded. Jin only slightly nodded. "That's good, I guess…probably better, for everyone." Jin looked at her, in shock. Of all the things Eizo would ever say, he never thought she would say that. While everyone hated the bond, she was the only one who ever embraced it. Whoever truly loved Kaikou for Kaikou, and not as their God.

"Better for you," she finally said. Jin's eyes filtered towards the window, on the birds passing by. They always reminded them of her…

_Two people were sitting on a bench in a garden surrounded with yellow flowers, birds flying past the two of them. They weren't supposed to be there, but perhaps that's why they were smiling. Love…had no barriers. _

_ "What did you tell Kaikou-sama?" she asked, holding his hand in hers and smiling at him with her beautiful purple eyes. He smiled back at her, squeezing her hand. _

_ "I told him I was visiting family."_

_ "What if he sees you?" _

_ "Eizo is covering for us. She'll keep him inside." _

_ "Of course," she chirped. "She has such a way with him, it's almost frightening." _

_ "She does…" Jin replied. _

_ "So, you'll be here this whole weekend?" Jin nodded and she could hardly contain her smile. "With me…"_

_ "With you," he replied. _

_ Her smiled widened even still and she pecked him on the lips, passionately as she does so, and rests her head on his shoulder, snuggling closer to him as he wraps her arm around her. The two of them were happy. Content._

_ Around them, a pair of birds were singing and she began to laugh. "It's as if they're singing for us, right?" Jin made a 'hmm' sound to say that he agreed. She looked up at him from his shoulder, smiling. _

_ "I love you, Yuka." He kissed her. _

"You are so selfless, Eizo…you know that," Jin said, still lost in thought. For a while, Eizo was quiet, staring at Kaikou. He hadn't moved or made any recollection that he could hear anything at all. "It's unfair it happened this way…perhaps that is the curse. It sensed your bond was the strongest and, therefore, it was cut. Perhaps to make it as painful of a process as it could."

A few tears made their way down Eizo's face and Jin could only sit next to her, silently. Eizo never wanted comfort when she cried. She had many masculine traits to her, including an immense amount of pride, and crying was something she tries never to do, even though she fails often.

"Do you regret it?" she asked.

"What?" Jin knew what she was talking about…

"…everything."

There was a pause of silence as Jin tried to come up with an answer that answered it the best. "Every day," he finally said.

"Do you want her back?"

"Doesn't matter what I want. Yuka would never take me back. Not for what I put her through…and besides, Kaikou would never allow it."

"Maybe not…"

"He won't even allow it for himself." Slowly, Eizo's eyes lifted up and exchanged with Jin's. She wasn't sure, exactly, what he was saying…and she was hoping she was wrong. "Do you think I never noticed or suspected? I see the way you talk about him. I see the way you look right now…you look miserable, Eizo. As if the love of her life is dying."

"He's not going to die!" she snapped, very fast, and only after did she realize what she said.

"It's okay," he said, before she had a chance to freak out. "It's fine…if anything, I understand."

"No, you don't…" she said, glumly.

"I know you were angry at me for what I did to Yuka…I know you two are best friends and I know you thought my reason wasn't justified. That I was a coward and a robot…I'm not, Eizo, and I understand what you're going through."

"I was angry…and I over-reacted, I'll admit," she whispered. "But I understand, now…" Jin was confused. "The terror. The…hope. The tragedy."

"It's not nearly all th-"

"I'm pregnant, Jin…" she finally said.

Jin stopped talking and his mouth nearly remained open as he processed this information. With a look of shame, she looked upon Jin, and her eyes went down to Kaikou. He didn't hear, he was still unconscious. She brushed some of his hair away from his eyes with a sigh that only a person hopeless in love with no hope for anything would give. She had reached the end of the line. There was nothing left to do…nowhere to go.

"I don't know what to do…"

Jin was silent. He had nothing to say, either. For once in his entire life, Jin was speechless. He shuddered to think what Kaikou might do in one of his rages. Would he hit Eizo? Would he hurt the child? Surely he wouldn't be ecstatic about having a child. Surely he would get rid of it by any means necessary…but could he harm Eizo? Would he? Jin liked to hope he wouldn't, but Jin had very little hope in Kaikou to do anything right. Granted, that might be harsh but it was the solemn truth.

"It might be best to keep that information to yourself, Eizo…at least for a little while." Eizo only nodded, silently. "I'm not sure he's in a reasonable state right now. He might over-react."

"He's gonna hate me…" she said, staring at her stomach.

"I don't think he ever could."

Eizo was silent for hours afterwards as the two sat in silence. There was nothing Jin could say that could possibly make her feel better. She felt as if she betrayed Kaikou by being pregnant. Who could blame her?

Things were going to get significantly more complicated…

* * *

The kiss was more than Maia had ever imagined. She always imagined what it would be like, kissing Ryuu. It was something she thought of several times every week, and the thought of them together had always filled her with happiness, but Maia was used to the idea that she'd grow up, old and alone, taking care of her sister. As if she'd stay young forever.

Love…was never an option. Love would never be allowed…why not?

Even though she enjoyed being so close to Ryuu, she forced herself to stop. It was wrong of her to put ideas into Ryuu's head. Right now, she wasn't sure what she wanted, if she could even have it. She had to sort things out first. Her and Ryuu could never be…and it killed her to think that. Kaikou would have both of their heads, and more.

"Ryuu," she interrupted. He saw that coming. "We can't."

Ryuu closed his eyes and sighed, frustrated. "Because?"

"You don't want to know."

"Haru?"

Maia even hesitated. "I don't know," she admitted. Did she like Haru? Was she feeling something for him…? Was she even capable of that emotion? Maia didn't know. They were friends, great friends, and they'd been through a lot.

"Whatever," he mumbled. "I just always wanted to do that."

Just as Maia was about to give again, Ryuu withdrew himself from her. He sat down and near about glared at her. Clearly, he was frustrated with her. Angry. Slightly ashamed, she sat herself next to him.

"I'm sorry…I'm a train wreck, I know."

"Yes, you are, Maia!" he said in a slightly angry tone. Rolling his eyes, he folded his arms on the table, averting his eyes. "I don't get you sometimes. A year ago, you were mine—"

"I'm not yours!" she fought back.

This caught him to smile. "See, where's that Maia? Where's that feisty Maia that I fell in love with? That guy has softened you up! He's changed you…I don't like it."

"A lot has changed, Ryuu," she told him. "Can't you see that?"

"You've always cared about Kaikou more than me, I've accepted that." She tried to interject, but he spoke over her. "But now it's suddenly this guy is more important! What's so special about this guy?"

"Nothing—"

"Then what—the—hell happened?" he yelled. "I won't always be here for you, Maia. Not if you keep doing this." Maia was silent and this made Ryuu even more angry. "I went to speak with Eizo about Chiyo. And she went to Kaikou. Not three days later, she's released. Yeah, I made a mistake, but I've fixed it. For you. Sometimes, I don't know why I do it."

Maia was silent. He continued.

"Maybe you're not who I used to know anymore…" he finally said.

"Ryuu," she said, before he could say anything else. "When I first met Haru, I thought he and his family might be the key to breaking the curse…and I was thinking of you the whole time. Because I know how much you hate that I love Kaikou, and I didn't know what else to do so I grabbed onto the only hope that I had hoping that maybe…maybe you wouldn't hate me forever."

Ryuu didn't say anything.

"You came in here today asking if you'd lost your best friend…I just hope I haven't lost mine."

Ryuu only smiled his mischievous smirk, and he even chuckled a little bit. "Never."

As he leaned in to kiss her, again, Maia leaned in, as well. At the moment, she still wasn't sure what she wanted…well, this was a perfect time to find out. Moments before their lips touched, though…

"Maia."

Maia and Ryuu's eyes closed in slight frustration as they drifted apart from one another. It was Onii and he was standing at the door with the most confused and slightly frightened look on his face. He wasn't looking at her…he was looking past her.

"Kaikou had a heart attack."

* * *

The door to Kaikou's room burst open and nearly gave Eizo a heart attack. She had been there all day and all night, waiting for Kaikou to wake up. Every so often, he did and she was there to comfort him, but most of the time…he was asleep.

"He's asleep," Eizo warned as Maia and Ryuu came in. Ryuu looked much less concerned than Maia did, of course. Maia and the God shared a sick and twisted bond. Not even Maia knew why she was so upset right now.

With a small head nod towards Ryuu, she stepped outside with Ryuu to follow and left Maia alone in the room with Kaikou. Maia took the seat in which Eizo was sitting at and just sat there, staring at him.

Was this her fault? Three more people were just infected, at roughly the same time. She blamed herself. It was her fault he was in here…she felt awful.

She stayed in with him alone for nearly 45 minutes. Ryuu left shortly after arriving to only further spite the God. He only came with to make sure Maia arrived safely. Eizo would be there to take care of her and Ryuu would never mourn for Kaikou, not in a million years.

There was a visitor, though. A visitor that she hadn't seen in a while…a visitor she didn't expect to see.

She heard a knock on the door, and when Maia looked up…she saw Haru. Wide-eyed, she looked towards Kaikou and made her way towards the door, stepping outside. There was an awkward moment when they were about to hug…only, then, realizing what would happen. There was so much to say…

"I'm sorry, Haru…the things that I said…they weren't true." Haru only nodded. "It wasn't your fault."

"You don't have to apologize, Maia. Eizo and Rock explained it all to me."

"How'd you know I was here?"

"Eizo called me." Maia smiled. Of course. "So, what happened?"

Maia was silent for a beat as she tried to find the best words to say this that would make sense. After all, it didn't, really. "I think I gave him a heart attack…"

"You?"

"Chiyo, Ryuu and Onii were infected…at roughly the same time."

"Onii?"

"Chiyo's friend."

The two of them made their way towards the waiting room. For a small moment, Maia wondered where Eizo went…she said she wasn't going anywhere. Where did she run off to? But that was only a passing thought.

"Thanks for coming…" she told him.

Haru smiled. "I know what he means to you."

"Is it unnatural?" Haru asked what. "That I'm so attached to him…when everyone else hates him…"

"No," Haru said, hesitantly.

"Tell me the truth."

He sighed a bit. "He does seem like he has you wrapped around his pinkie…like he can make you do anything. Like you're his—"

"Puppet, I know," she said, rather harshly. "Believe me, I've heard it enough from Ryuu."

"You asked," he mumbled.

"He wasn't always so cruel, you know…" she said, obviously off in her own world.

"Hard to believe that."

"No one is born like that," she said, trying to get him to understand. "I barely remember, but from what I do, he used to be so sweet and innocent. We used to play together…and he loved me. He never raised his voice or his hand to me or anyone."

"So what happened?" Haru asked.

"His mother," Maia said, quietly. "Her name was Maia…I was named after her. She and my mother were sisters…Kaikou is my cousin." This seemed to shock Haru a bit, and he was listening. "But Kaikou and his mother were very close. He was such a momma's boy from what my parents used to say. Maia and my parents used to get together and we'd have dinner. Kaikou and I would always play hide and seek or some other stupid game around the house while they had dinner."

Maia gave a small chuckle, remembering the old days, and Haru smiled down on her, enjoying this little soft side she had. Sure, Maia was tough…but her soft side was what he loved most about her. So misunderstood.

"Something happened to his mother…?" Haru inferred. Maia nodded, her head lowered.

"They went to the marketplace one day. Kaikou insisted on having a pet parrot or something so they were going to the pet store. Well…they got jumped." Haru listened in horror and Maia struggled to even tell the story. "She begged them to spare her son's life…so, they tied him up, gagging him, and they left with his mother. A couple days later, they found her body."

Haru was speechless. To think something so terrible happened to a child. To have to witness your mother being carried away, screaming and begging for your life.

"I can't imagine what they did with her…probably many unspeakable things."

"So that's why….everything…" Haru said, unsure of what else to say.

"He grew so angry after that. He was only eleven, but that was old enough to remember it, vividly. That's why he shelters us, why he is so afraid and resenting of outsiders. He didn't start hitting until after that. See, Kaikou had always been angry. Even as a child, he always had a temper…but Maia could calm him down nearly always, and without her there, well, it only got worse with everything that happened.

"And my name is Maia…he's told me, many times, that I remind him of her…that I resemble her, and that I have somewhat the same effect on him."

"Explains why he's so protective over you, in particular."

She only nodded.

"You're very brave, Maia," Haru said. "I'm not just saying that. To be there for him when everyone else refuses to. To be able to see beyond the way he treats everyone…because you know him, don't you? You grew up with him…and you're not afraid. You love him…I don't have that relationship with Akito. I hate him…so much. But you…I never understood why Shigure and Hatori and the others followed Akito's orders so much. Why they…blindly followed his every word. But now…I don't know, I understand."

A single tear fell down Maia's face and Haru slowly reached up to wipe it off.

"It's not as noble as you think. I'm an abused dog going back to his owner simply because I have nowhere else to go." Another tear fell down.

Slowly, Haru began to lean in towards her. A part of him wanted to comfort her. To tell her that someone loved her. He knew she would never accept him in the end…but maybe just for a moment…just for today…maybe she would.

Maia found herself leaning in, too, and also feeling very guilty at the same time. She didn't know what she wanted. Ryuu. Haru. Kaikou. All her love, it was so misplaced. So confusing and disgusting. She didn't even know what she wanted, or even how to love.

Before anything happened…they were interrupted. Again.

"Maia." It was Eizo. "Sorry if I'm interrupting…there's something you should see."

Looking slightly worried, the pair of them followed Eizo to another room. One on a higher level than Kaikou was. The door opened and when Maia saw who it was lying on the bed, she let out a large gasp. This could only complicate things more.

"Kaoru…"

* * *

_Ah! So much happens in this chapter! Eizo is pregnant. You see Jin and Yuka's relationship. Kaikou has a heart attack and his story is revealed and Kaoru is also in the hospital!_

_Oh! And can I just say that I really like that Ryuu seems to prefer her darker side and Haru likes her soft side. I'm sure you guys are wondering who she'll pick in the end :P At least, that's what you should be wondering. _

_Thanks to my two recent reviewers: The Almighty Pyro (who reviews every chapter practically and very quick! Thank you so much!) and diamondluvr2 (a recent reader! I'm so glad you're enjoying it!)_

_Oh! Just so you guys know. Only __**22 MORE REVIEWS UNTIL 100! **__and __**4 MORE FAVORITES UNTIL 50!**__ Make my dreams come true, people! I'd love to get 100 reviews for this story! _

_The next chapter you will meet probably my second favorite character (Eizo being my first). I won't tell you what zodiac it is or what the name is, but it WILL tell you that he is a HE. haha. Rock will appear in both parts of the next chapter, as well as a Sohma family member that has not made an appearance yet. A new and interesting plot twist starts in the next chapter, and I am very excited about it!_

_I'll try to have it posted before next Friday. Thanks for reading!_

_Review? (:_


	18. To Kill the King

**Cursed Constellations**

Well, it came out a little later than I expected. I'm taking the week off before Spring Break so all my homework got pushed back into one week...it was a little stressful. It's shorter than the last chapter, but I really like this one. I'll be leaving for two weeks going to Florida so there's a pretty good chance you won't get an update from me until I come back, but hopefully I'll have plenty of time to work on writing while I'm sitting on a balcony breathing in the ocean air (: Can't wait!

* * *

**XVIII  
**To Kill the King

* * *

Rock couldn't believe it when he first heard the news. He felt like a deer in the headlights. He couldn't believe it. At last…he'd finally found her. She was in his reach. Would she even want to see him? Kaikou did terrible things to her, that he was sure of. Why else would she leave?

Many times, he had gone over in his head what it would be like to see her again. What he would even say…all he could really do was apologize. Apologize for falling in love with her and having Kaikou know that. He was so foolish. Why did he even confess to Kaikou in the first place? Why didn't he foresee the tragedy that would follow? Rock has talked about this with many people, his mother being one of the more frequent ones. 'Because you were in love,' she would say. She'd tell him one doesn't necessarily think everything through when they're in love. There's no question of what would happen if they did this, or if he said that. There is only the truth. He was a man very much in love.

His mother always said that Kaoru was a lucky woman, and that he, a lucky man. That they were meant to be together. Rock wasn't so sure anymore. Look at what his love has done…and now he has to face her, again.

Maia didn't say much, only the room number she was in. He cared not that Kaikou was in the hospital, though that came up. If Kaikou dropped dead, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. All he cared about was his angel…

He was outside the door, not knowing what would be in store for him on the other side…but he had to find out.

As he opened the door, he saw something he didn't expect. On the bed lay Kaoru…his beloved…and sitting next to her…was someone equally special to him. How did she know about this?

"Mother?" He was shocked.

"Hello, Iwato." There were only two people in the world that called him Iwato. Loosely translated, it means Rock, and he preferred that over his birth given name. However, Kaoru and his mother tended to take a liking for it. Rock didn't care for it much but, when they said it…it didn't sound so bad. "Maia told me you would be coming."

"You sound as if you wished I hadn't," he said, slightly confused.

His mother sighed. "I didn't want you to see her…not like this."

"How did you know she was here?" he said, almost accusingly. The idea that his mother had been here for Kaoru and not him this whole time made him slightly agitated.

"When they found her, they found my name under her emergency contact information in her files."

"She put you down as an emergency contact?"

"As if she'd put her own mother's?" she almost scoffed.

Rock didn't respond. It was true. Kaoru treated Hina as her own mother, since her family had abandoned her. Hina had always loved Rock, in fact, a little too much. She used to be one of those parents who tied their kid to a leash to make sure she knew where he was at all times. Being a member of the curse, Rock could see how it probably made her feel a little more at ease, only Rock's mother was extremely protective. It's one of the reasons he moved into Eizo's house. He loved his mother…but she drove him crazy.

Although, he had it much better than Kaoru did. Her mother very nearly denied her existence and her parents were constantly fighting. It was Kaoru's fault, so they say, that they were so unhappy. That she ruined their lives. Out of punishment, her father used to purposefully hug her, making her go through the pain of her transformation.

Rock hated her father.

Making her way towards her bed, he knelt beside her. Her eyes were closed and she was connected to many devices, none of which Rock knew about. His mother would. She was a nurse at this very hospital, actually, but currently, she was dressed casually which meant she was visiting Kaoru on her day off.

On the table next to her were violets and Rock sighed very silently. "You remember her favourite flower?" His mother only nodded. Rock brushed some hair away from her face and kissed her forehead, squeezing her hand, slightly, hoping that she'd wake up. He didn't really want to know what it was…but he figured he would find out before he left.

"Kaoru…kay-kay, baby…are you awake?" A tear fell down his face as he grabbed her hand with both of his, turning it into a fist, and kissed it. "I've been looking everywhere for you…please wake up."

Hina was silent, staring at the pair of them.

"What happened, mom? What's wrong with her?" He looked towards his mother who seemed fairly reluctant to give the answer. "What happened to her, mother!?"

With a reluctant sigh, she closed her eyes, painfully. "She's in a coma."

Rock pursed his lips together, turning towards Kaoru again. "For how long?"

"A while." He was silent. "The doctors say she will be fine…she just needs a bit of time."

"_He _did this to her, didn't he?" Rock said, angrily. He near about groaned in anger at himself. "I should never have left. I should've known. I should've stayed with her, I should've taken her with me! God dam nit, why am I such an idiot…"

"Don't blame yourself, Iwato. He would've done it to her by any means necessary. She will be fine, and I'm sure she does not blame you."

"I'm gonna kill him," he said, gritting his teeth.

"Calm down—"

"I won't!" More tears began to shed as he stared at his love and gritted his together, so very frustrated. "He'll pay for what he did to you, Kaoru…I promise." With that, Rock stormed his way out of the room.

On his way out, he nearly knocked over a girl with long, black hair who was about to head into the room. He gave her a hard glance and made his leave, leaving the girl wide-eyed and slightly terrified.

"Was that him?" she asked Hina, who only nodded.

* * *

There was a blonde man sitting on a stool at a bar. The bar was dirty and everyone seemed to know each other by name. A local bar in which the same people came to quite frequently. There was one person, however, who just entered the building that no one seemed to know. When he entered, nearly everyone looked at him as the customer scanned the room, finding what he was looking for.

The male made his way towards the blonde man at the counter holding a cigarette. The blonde didn't turn or make any inclination that he knew who had just sat down. He simply puffed the smoke out of his mouth, asking the bartender for another beer, and smiled.

"Now, I figure you got a story to tell, if you came all the way down here," he said. The blonde looked in his mid-twenties and looked only slightly Japanese. His blonde hair stood out from all the dark brunettes in the room, but no one ever tried to tell him that.

"I found Kaoru." The blonde looked at him in the corner of his eye and began to drink his beer that had just been placed before him. The man seemed slightly shocked, though still maintaining his nonchalant attitude. He said not a word, giving a silent look at Rock, gesturing him to continue.

"Kaikou was hospitalized—"

"I'm sure Maia and Eizo made their way up there, lickety-split like good little slaves, didn't they?"

Rock rolled his eyes, ordering a soda. "Give 'em a break, Zane. You know their story well enough, don't you?"

"I do," he said. "That don't mean they're not his royal boot lickers."

Rock ignored him. "Well…Kaoru was at that same hospital." Zane looked at him, slightly interested. "She's in a coma."

Zane smirked. "No surprises there." Rock said not a word as he drank a sip from his soda staring at the counter. "And what of my idea?"

Rock's face was emotionless and the both of them were silent as they processed these words. There was an idea that had come up a while ago, these were Zane's dark times, before Rock had fallen, really. He was reluctant back then. So much was at stake. Kaoru. His mother. It's not as if that's changed, really, but things were certainly different. He might actually be up to it this time.

The door to the bar opened but neither of them looked back to see who it was. There was some chatter amongst the men as a beautiful girl with long, black hair made their way to the counter and sat down two seats away from Zane, ordering a beer. She seemed to fit right in as far as being the rebellious-type. Rock only glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, thinking she was familiar for some reason, but brushed the thought aside. Zane didn't even notice her.

"Don't waste my time, Rock, I know why you've come here." Rock was silent and Zane only shook his head, chuckling slightly. "You're still a little pansy shit, aren't you? You can't even do this for the woman you love? For christ's sake, it's not like you're Maia or Eizo. What reason do you have to plunder by his feet?"

"Ryuu hasn't accepted your offer, either, Zane! It's near lunacy!"

"Ryuu would never betray Maia, Rock. You know that's why. But at least Ryuu has the notion to. He'd die to do this. Hell, he's jealous!"

"I came here to tell you I can do it, Zane," he interjected, furiously. "It's never been a question, can't you see that? You're my best friend…we came up with this together—"

"Yeah, until you chickened out—"

"She disappeared, Zane! I wasn't about to do anything drastic before I at least knew she was safe."

"If she's in a coma, she's still not safe, you know that."

"It doesn't matter…he's going to pay for what he did to her."

This made Zane smile and he drank another sip of his beer, grinning as he did so. "Now, that's what I like to hear."

"You're insane, you know that?" Rock chuckled.

"Don't I," Zane smirked, darkly. "I've been told that nearly every time I see one of you people."

Rock only shook his head. Zane had left the estate a long time ago, due to a disagreement with the God. Well, it wasn't so much of a disagreement as it was a personal attack. Kaikou was relentless when it came to his anger…but Zane was, really, the only one he ever feared. The only reason Kaikou lets him live so far away, and keep his distance so frequently, is because he's secretly terrified of him.

"Once he's gone, we'll get our lives back, Rock," he said, getting excited. "We'll be free to be who we wanna be…love who we wanna love. No rules. No more hiding."

A frown showed up on Rock's face and Zane knew what he was going to say. He didn't want to hear it. "She won't remember you, Zane."

"You don't think I know that?!" he near about screamed, accidentally pushing his beer onto the ground, glass spilling everywhere. Zane put his elbows on the table and buried his face into his hands. "I just can't go through that again…not again."

Rock was silent as he watched Zane torture himself. All of the zodiac had been through hell, quite frankly, except for a small few. However, Zane's life was personally threatened by Kaikou. Kaikou made it very clear in showing Zane who was in charge. Who held control over his life. It wasn't Zane, that was for sure. Kaikou may be terrified of Zane…but he sure loves controlling him. It's a different control than Maia. Zane won't do everything Kaikou says, but he is manipulated in every other way. Of all the people in the Zodiac, Zane had committed the worst crime in Kaikou's eyes, and for that…he must be punished.

"He's going to pay for what he's done, Rock…to all of us. I'm not saying I give a shit about anyone in this family…but he's destroying all of our lives. Look at Jin and Yuka. Ryuu and Maia…I heard what he did to Chiyo…"

Rock bit his lip, avoiding eye contact. For a while, Maia and Chiyo stayed with Zane. He got pretty attached to that little girl…was devastated when he found out what Kaikou had done. "You should've visited her."

Zane only laughed. "Kaikou wouldn't have let me within fifty feet of that place. Doesn't trust me."

"Can you blame him?" Rock asked.

"No," he said honestly. "Whatever he's thinking I would have done…I probably would'a done it. Can't believe he put her in that place…a little girl. There's a reason they're not putting Gei in it until he's of age. A cage like that…he'll go mad."

"Have you heard from him lately?" Rock asked. Zane shook his head. He was about to ask another question when they were interrupted.

The girl that had been sitting two seats away from Zane stood and up and walked towards the both of them. They hadn't noticed her, until she addressed them directly.

"Are you Eto Rock?" she asked.

Both Zane and Rock turned to look towards her, in alarm. Who was she and how the hell did she know his name?

"What's it to you?" Zane interjected, answering for him.

The girl only smirked, shaking her head a bit.

"We have a mutual interest," she said. "My name is Sohma Isuzu…and I want my God dead, too."

* * *

_AH! A lot of exciting stuff. You learn a little more about Kaoru as well as a new character is introduced! Zane! He's my second favorite. Also, I don't know if you caught it, but the name to the serpent of the Zodiac was mentioned, as well. And RIN IS HERE! WOOHOO!_

_Thanks, again,_ to_ my reviewers for the previous chapter: BlackWolfe and The Almighty Pyro. I really appreciate how long you two have stuck with this story! And Wolfe, they don't actually transform when kissing. Ryuu got too close and hugged her. By the by, it probably won't be revealed who she chooses till the end, and I do tend to be unpredictable :P _

_19 more reviews till I reach my 100! And still 4 more favs until 50. So close! _

_In the next chapter, Momiji will make a significant appearance and I'll also be continuing the Zane/Rock/Rin conversation. More on their plot! This plot to 'kill the Gods' will continue almost through the rest of the story so, I hope you like it!_

_Until next time!_


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